Testimonials
15th March 2023
Our student, Brianna Swan, participated to the CO-DIJIP conference hosted in Brussels on “Digitalising joint programmes: The way(s) forward on the path towards Joint European Degrees” as panelist on “What role can Higher Education Institutions play in enabling the success of digitally enhanced Joint Programmes?”
Read her essay on experience as an Erasmus Mundus student, available at https://amplifier.w.uib.no/2022/10/26/digital-and-tangible-connections/ and https://learningtoolbox.aalto.fi/learningtoolbox/pre_loved_practices/virtual-and-hybrid-hackathons/
Testimonial videos of Cohort 3 students
Cohort 2 Written Testimonials
I am John Wanner from Japan, and I am studying at the University of Lorraine during the first semester of the GENIAL program. Before joining the program, I completed my undergraduate studies in Computer Science from Eotvos Lorand University. What drove me to study this field was my interest in computer architectures and the development of software systems.
During my studies, I took part in an internship in a company that provides enterprise data cloud platforms. During that time, I familiarized myself with distributed systems and cloud computing technologies, which later had an impact on my decision to pursue a related field for my graduate studies.
What did you find so unique about the program?
When I came across the Genial program, I found it particularly appealing because of its domain not only limited to ICT but also in Sustainability.
What was your main motivation to join the programme?
The program was in line with my research interests and career opportunities. The courses offered during the first semester have been topics closely related to networking, and the learning experience with sustainability in mind has been incredibly rewarding. Aside from studies, the program has introduced me to people from different countries and has enabled me to witness different cultures and broaden my horizons.
What would you like to say to potential GENIAL applicants considering their choices?
To those who are interested in joining us, I can only highly recommend it!
Hello everyone, I am Sharif Noor Zisad from Bangladesh. I have graduated from the
University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. My undergraduate major was Computer Science
and Engineering. I loved developing static web applications from an early on stage. Hence, I decided to study Computer Science.
During my undergraduate study, I worked as a Freelance Software Engineer for two and a half years. After my undergraduate studies, I worked as an Android Application Developer and later as a Web Application Developer. My core responsibility was to develop android applications and Laravel and Django-based web applications. Besides, I was a Research Assistant at Sustainable Computing Lab where I worked on the Machine Learning and Belief Rule-based system.
What is one or more accomplishment you think has helped you to be selected for the Genial program ?
I believe my academic background, web-related work experience, and Sustainable computing research experience helped me to get selected for the program. I would like to thank my undergraduate supervisor Professor Mohammad Shahadat Hossain Sir for motivating and guiding me to choose this program.
How can the program shape you to achieve your future goals?
As an enthusiast, I want to learn more about the basics of cloud computing and networking technologies. I think this knowledge will help me to develop more robust and sustainable applications. In this case, the GENIAL program will help me to achieve my goal. This program is a combination of Green Networking and Cloud Computing. GENIAL will help me to learn sustainable development and the basics of cloud computing.
What would you like to say to potential GENIAL applicants considering their choices?
For the future students, I would like to say if you like to become a sustainable developer or Cloud Engineer, the GENIAL program is always here to welcome you.
My name is Md Asif Mahmod Tusher Siddique, and I am from Bangladesh. I completed my undergraduate from the University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Engineering. I choose this subject because I had a keen interest since an early age in computers and liked tinkering with various software and programming languages. The limitless things that we can do with computers by using just 1’s and 0’s is fascinating. From gaming to all sort of advancements in artificial intelligence, and all those socio-economic problems that we can solve, it all startles me.
I completed my undergraduate studies at the end of 2019 and after that joined my university as a teaching assistant and later as a Research Assistant. As a Teaching Assistant, I was mainly involved with taking programming related classes and labs such as Object-oriented Programming, Algorithm, Data Structure, etc. As a Research Assistant, my main work was “Computer-aided design for leaf disease diagnosis using Image processing and Machine learning techniques”.
What is one or more accomplishment you think has helped you to be selected for the Genial program ?
I think my academic results, my background and my thesis work which was directly related to green networking helped me to get a spot in this prestigious scholarship.
What was your motivation to join the programe?
One of my motivations for joining a master’s degree in GENIAL was to work towards sustainability and green energy. I came from a developing nation where a vast transition is going on towards digitalization. Subsequently, energy consumption is growing exponentially and as a developing nation, the focus is more on making leaps forward rather than considering what damage we are doing to the world. From my position, with my talent and effort, I want to contribute as much as I can.
What are the advantages of studying in GENIAL and what are the challenges?
I am very excited to be here. In our cohort, there are students from 13 different countries. The opportunity of meeting all these people from different nations and learning about their cultures is just amazing. Moreover, Nancy is very beautiful. All the places that I have been able to visit after coming here made me fall in love with this place. Even though culture shock can be a little challenging at times, but it is precious too. Joining GENIAL and coming here has broadened my horizon and made me respect and appreciate people from different perspectives.
I am Md. Sakibul Islam, GENIAL Cohort 2 student from Bangladesh. For my undergraduate degree, I studied Computer Science and Engineering at one of the most prestigious universities of Bangladesh, the Islamic University of Technology (IUT). I primarily chose to pursue a Computer science degree because as a teenager I loved playing computer games and was always curious about how computer games work. Secondarily, I also had a good understanding of mathematics and basic programming. So when I got the opportunity to study at IUT, computer Science seemed like the obvious choice. However, after studying computer science, I would say my interests have grown in a different direction. I started enjoying Networking courses and pursued my undergrad thesis on the Networking field.
During my studies, I was awarded an internship opportunity from USA-based Nilavo Technologies. During my internship, I have developed system applications, did research, analysis, and evaluation of system program needs.After graduating, I started working as a University Lecturer. My core responsibilities were delivery and planning of lectures, developing curriculum and course material, conducting research, etc. I was able to benefit greatly by collaborating with other academics and lecturers and improving teaching methods as well as expanding my knowledge base.
What is one or more accomplishment you think has helped you to be selected for the Genial program ?
My Computer Science and Engineering background, networking research experience, and publication in the field of sustainability contributed to getting selected for the GENIAL program. During my study at IUT which is an international institute with students from 56 OIC countries, I learned to collaborate, work as a team, and share ideas in a diverse as well as multicultural environment. So it was also another plus point for me. Moreover, I would like to thank my seniors for their constant mentorship and guidelines.
Why did you choose to join GENIAL?
I was offered 2 Erasmus Mundus fully-funded scholarship programs of the European Union. So It was a tough decision to choose the right program, all the opportunities were equally great but after much thinking, I have decided to pursue Masters’s in GENIAL because this program had the perfect balance between Sustainable Networking and the future of technology Cloud computing.
What would you like to say to potential GENIAL applicants considering their choices?
To the potential GENIAL candidates, I would like to say if you are motivated to learn and build a Sustainable future of networking and cloud computing, GENIAL is a good place to be. You will learn not only current trends in the networking field but also the core fundamentals of networking.
I am Arsalan Ahmed from Pakistan and currently, I am an EMM student in the GENIAL program. Before GENIAL, I earned my undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science from Habib University. From a very early age, I was intrigued by the pervasive nature of communications technology and saw it as a way of positively impacting people’s lives. My undergraduate studies in electrical engineering formally introduced me to this exciting domain which reinforced my determination to pursue a career in it.
I joined the GENIAL program right after my undergraduate, so I did not have much work experience. However, I was involved in several research projects in the domain of networking and wireless communications. The most notable of these is the development of an open-source signal processing toolkit for optical wireless communications within the GNURadio framework. Apart from this, decent grades and relevant higher level elective courses made my acceptance to this program possible.
What was your main motivation to join the programme?
My decision to join the GENIAL program was largely motivated by the fact that this program not only helps its students in gaining advanced knowledge of ICT but also allows them to contribute to minimize the threat of climate change. Furthermore, I was also attracted by the globalized and multicultural nature of the program.
Can you describe your experience at Nancy so far?
Up till now, the journey has been amazing to say the least. The city of Nancy is quite vibrant with rich culture and amazing architecture. However, adjusting to the cold weather might be the real challenge if you are from a warm country like me.
How can the program shape you to achieve your future goals?
I already feel that this program is definitely going to serve as an important stepping stone towards my future career as a thoughtful ICT researcher.
What would you like to say to potential GENIAL applicants considering their choices?
I would like to say that if you are someone who is interested in communications technology but also passionate about making a positive change then this program is perfect for you as it provides the right balance.