Echo

Cybersecurity at Macquarie Group w/ Don Ramos

Come join Natalie and Fiona as they sit down with Don, the Head Engineer of Identity & Access Management at Macquarie group, to discuss the ins and outs of cybersecurity. Featured topics include:

📌From learning in academia 📚 to the realities of working in industry 🏢👔

📌The popular trends 📈arising in the future of cybersecurity 📅

📌How goated it is to work at Macquarie Group 🤩

📌Technical and soft skills 💻🛠 needed to get you hired, guaranteed 🎯🥇

📌AND MUCH MORE!!!

 

Timestamps

(0:00)  Intro 
(0:57)  Growing up and working overseas 
(4:40) Reasons why Don likes cybersecurity 
(6:41) Security in academia vs industry 
(9:28) Working in Australia 
(14:00) Working in Macquarie 
(18:56) A normal day at work 
(20:12) Adjusting work life due to COVID-19 
(23:38) Favourite part of working in cybersecurity 
(24:27) How to get into cybersecurity 
(29:10) The future of cybersecurity 
(30:58) Advice 

Game Development at Wargaming w/ Bilal Akil

Love playing games? 💻 🕹 Ever thought about making games as a career?📈 ⚙️ Well, Bilal Akil does both!

In this industry podcast, Rani and Natalie sit down with Bilal Akil to talk about Game Development and his career path to Software Engineer at Wargaming! 🎉

They discuss:

• University life: undergraduate vs. masters 🔖
• The differences between regular Software Development and Game Development
• What it’s like working in the gaming industry 👾
• Working as a Software Engineer at Wargaming  😎

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro
(01:04) Personal life
(04:27) University life
(14:07) Difference in roles
(23:33) Industry of gaming
(35:37) Working as a senior software engineer
(47:10) Recruitment process
(53:06) Advice

 

Startups: Grow With A Business, Not Through One w/ Shannon Scott

Ever wanted to join a startup, but didn’t know where to start? 😅 Ever considered taking on non-engineering roles, but been too afraid to step outside your comfort zone? 🤷🏻‍♀️

In this industry episode, Mariya and Archit talk to Shannon Scott, Product Director at Australian Fintech 💸 startup ✨ Airwallex! ✨ Previously, Shannon has also worked at Palantir as a Software Engineering Manager.

They discuss:

• Debunking startup culture, myths, and more
• Using an engineering degree to excel in management 😎
• What it was like working for Palantir 🚀 in its early stages
• The significant early career benefits working at a startup compared to an established company ⚖️
• Advice for keen students and startup enthusiasts
• And more!

Timestamps

(1:33) University Life
(3:46) Working at rapidly-growing startups (Palantir)
(8:43) Airwallex
(18:38) Startup Culture 
(31:23) Transitioning from Engineering to Management Roles
(42:44) Advice to Students
(44:43) Outro

 

Talking With Lecturers: Sasha Vassar

Mariya and Amanda chat with ✨ Sasha Vassar ✨, CSE lecturer and the new lecturer for COMP1511 Intro to Programming at UNSW! As well as being an experienced computer scientist, Sasha also holds a doctorate 🎓 in Education, so they pick her brain about teaching, learning and computer science.

They discuss:
 * What it’s like teaching 👩‍🏫 Computer Science as a discipline, 
 * What’s missing 🧐 from the comp curriculum?
 * Her new 🌟 approach to COMP1511, and
 * Advice for how YOU can get the most out of your courses! 🤩

Timestamps

(0:46) Life before teaching
(4:05) Teaching computer science as a discipline
(11:17) Thoughts on teaching and educational philosophy
(16:32) COMP1511: goals, expectations and advice
(25:53) Lecturing higher-year courses, including Human Computer Interaction
(34:14) Advice and future plans

Data Engineering at Canva w/ Nicholas Lambourne

Chasing a career in data engineering? 📈⚙️ Wondering if it’s right for you? Or have no idea what data engineering even is? 😅

In this industry episode, Keith and Amanda sit down with Nicholas Lambourne, a Data Engineer at Canva 😎 and part time UNSW honours student 📚, to discuss his experiences, including:

• The perks and challenges 💎 of working as a data engineer
• Big data, machine learning 🤯 and the future of data engineering 🚀
• The skills YOU need to become a pro data engineer 🤓
• Life in industry and in academia
• Internships, uni, and finding a career direction for yourself 💡
• And more!

Timestamps

0:34 What is data engineering?
6:51 The future of data
10:37 Daily life as a data engineer
18:13 Advice on getting started with data engineering
23:23 Working at Canva
32:09 Research in quantum computing and speech recognition (40:43)
49:28 Finding your fit in an internship
61:31 Degree regrets and picking a life path
74:52 Final advice

 

Personal Project Showcase: Circles

Ever stared at the UNSW Handbook for hours 🤔 trying to figure out what subjects you need to take? Ever wished that there was a simple and even aesthetic ✨ way of planning your degree?

That’s exactly what Hayes, James and Vincent thought when they decided to create ✨Circles✨, the People’s Choice winner of the 2020 CSESoc Personal Projects Competition! Arsham and Sunny pick their brains on all the ups and downs of developing a winning 🏆 webapp, including:

 ✅ How to learn a React library that DOESN’T have any Youtube tutorials or articles, 👩‍🏫
 ✅ What to do when UNSW changes their website completely 😤 halfway through the project, and
 ✅ What motivated them to work on the project every night 💪

If you’re interested in entering the Personal Projects Competition this year, the competition is still open and ends September 12th! Check out more information and sign up here: https://bit.ly/CSESocPersonalProjects2021

The Circles team mention this article in the podcast: https://purelyfunctional.tv/guide/programming-projects-resume/

Timestamps

01:15 Competition and project overview
06:38 Team background
11:52 Deciding on the project
17:12 Team roles
19:49 Language details and relevant UNSW courses
21:55 Learning process for project development
29:24 Technical development and timeline
34:35 Setbacks and roadblocks
38:49 Motivation
40:29 Future of Circles
46:11 "the +1 approach to programming projects"

What it's Like Moving to Sydney for University (UNSW)

The transition from high school to university can be pretty confusing 😅, but what if you combined that with the intimidating transition from moving to a different and unfamiliar city 🏙 (or country) for university? 😳

In the first episode of the ‘Student Life’ series, Mitchell (from Newcastle) sits down with students who did just that: Jack (Cessnock), Amir (Adelaide), Liv (Indonesia), and Ryan (New Zealand), to talk about their experiences 🛫 moving away from their hometowns 💔 to come to Sydney to study at UNSW.

They discuss:

• The initial struggles that come with being independent and living away from parents after ~18 years 
• Why they chose to leave their hometowns and come to Sydney 💡
• The challenges and rewards 💪 of moving to a different city for uni
• Making friends 🥰 and fitting in to the Sydney culture 🥸
• What it’s like leaving your high school network of friends behind
• How one podcast episode 🎙 from CSESoc convinced Mitchell to come to UNSW instead of Newcastle Uni??

Timestamps

0:00 Intro
1:49 Why did you choose to leave your hometown for Sydney?
13:07 Biggest shock factors when coming to UNSW
26:20 Hurdles/challenges of moving to Sydney in general
34:01 Biggest highlights of moving to Sydney
50:15 Advice for people on the fence moving to Sydney for uni

 

Marketing vs Media - Getting to Know CSESoc Ep#4

How do you market 📈 and create content 🎬 for one of the biggest student societies at UNSW? 😳

It turns out CSESoc in fact isn’t all magic 😮 and is run by sleep-deprived CSE students like you and me! 🤯 The Getting to Know CSESoc series aims to demystify what the directors and exec do ✍️ and to get to know them a little better. In the 4th episode, Keith and Michelle sit down with the 2021 Marketing and Media Directors: ✨Edwina, Eddy, Angeni, and Ryan. ✨

They discuss:

• The most rewarding 💪 and challenging 🥵 parts of being a director
• The insane work 🧠 behind managing socials and marketing events, career opportunities from sponsors, media content, and more for one of the biggest UNSW societies 🔥
• Media’s favourite guests on Echo 🎙 and some of the struggles that come with content creation 🎞
• Balancing director work with everything else ⚖️
• Being regular CSE 💻 and UNSW students 📚
• And more! ✨

Timestamps

0:00 Intro
2:08 Marketing: What is good about Media?
3:00 Media: What is good about Marketing?
4:43 How to market a student society 101
9:24 Where’s the CSESoc Tik Tok?
9:50 Who’s been your favourite guest on Echo?
12:47 The challenges of creating ‘73 Questions with the CSESoc Directors’
19:13 Most rewarding part of being a CSESoc Director?
23:22 Do you think you work well with your co-director?
27:16 Balancing director work with everything else
31:15 Stalking
39:56 Being CSE students
47:45 Guess Who: CSESoc Directors Edition
1:04:54 Random UNSW questions

Check out the first three episodes of this series with some of the 2020 team if you haven’t already!

Talking with Lecturers: Aaron Quigley (CSE Head of School)

In this ✨ exciting episode ✨ of Echo, Raathan and Sunny sit down with 🚨UNSW CSE Head of School 🚨 Aaron Quigley 💪!

They discuss:

• His love for teaching 🧑‍🏫 and his passion for Computer Science 💻
• What it’s like having been an academic 🧠 at universities all over the globe 🌎
• What it’s like chairing international research conferences 🎙
• His thoughts on industry vs academia 🤔
• The research he’s done on Human Computer Interaction 👀
• His 5 year plan for UNSW CSE 💖 and what he wants to achieve as Head of School 🔥🎓

NB: Please note that this episode was recorded in late 2020 for context for some of the discussion.

Timestamps:

00:00 Origins in computer science
15:09 Experiences in academia vs industry around the world 
21:04 Philosophy as the CSE Head of School
30:08 Research in human computer interaction
37:05 Chairing international conferences
45:49 Transitioning to teaching online
58:32 Teaching ENGG1811
1:14:54 Future of programming
1:17:05 Advice for students

 

A History of Computing: The Mechanical Marvels of Babbage and Lovelace

When was the first computer 💻 built? And who wrote the first computer program? 🤔

The✨ History of Computing✨ series is here to uncover how we got from punchcards to complex tech we study today! Join Alex and Keith as they explore the life and legacy of the first pioneers 🤓 of computer science, and dive into the mechanical marvels ⚙️ they envisioned. Discover:

• The journey to develop the very first computing machines 😮,
• How a computer without electricity 💡 was even possible, and
• How Ada Lovelace became the first 🥇 ever computer programmer 👩‍💻

01:09 Ada’s upbringing
02:02 Background on Babbage
03:06 The Difference Engine No. 1
08:44 Ada meets Babbage
09:28 Ada’s path in mathematics
10:29 The Analytical Engine
14:55 The First Computer Programmer
15:44 The Difference Engine No. 2
16:50 Babbage and Ada’s legacy

Music Credits:
- Bach Brandenburg Concerto no3 mvt3 Allegro by Advent Chamber Orchestra
- Erik Satie: Gymnopedie No 2 by Kevin MacLeod