20 students carry out an educational internship at IMDEA Networks with the 4ºESO+Enterprise Program

They have acquired skills necessary for their professional future and broadened their scientific knowledge

19 March 2024

On March 18 and 19, 20 students from IES Isaac Albéniz (Leganés), IES Arquitecto Peridis (Leganés), IES Maestro Matías Bravo (Valdemoro) and Centro Enriqueta Aymer (Madrid) enjoyed an educational stay at IMDEA Networks. This is the seventh year that we have participated in the 4ESO+company program, promoted by the Community of Madrid with the aim of better preparing students to make decisions about their academic future and to acquire the necessary professional skills required by the labor market.

During their visit, the group was supervised by the administration and engineering team, as well as by pre-doctoral researchers from the Internet Analytics group led by Narseo Vallina. On their first day, they were able to learn from our Administration Assistant Alex Delgado how IMDEA Networks and each of its departments work through practical examples. They were also able to understand how each of these areas supports our research staff and their relevance both within the organization and in any company, regardless of the object of their professional activity.

Our Communication Manager Marta Dorado explained the importance of scientific communication focusing on the part of dissemination through social networks. At the same time, they were able to learn step by-step how to create a website on WordPress.com, which can be very useful both to develop their personal brand and to expand their digital knowledge and know how to manage content on this popular platform.

On the other hand, Neftalí González, Systems Administrator, delved into the operation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems. He highlighted the potential for future growth driven by emerging technologies such as quantum computing and deep learning, as well as the central role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play in the innovation and transformation of different sectors. He noted that automation will change the nature of work, requiring people to acquire new skills to adapt to the changing work environment. Also, to further enrich the visit the group of students were able to visit the 5TONIC lab on 5G and 6G network research and data center.

On the second day, they were together with research engineer José Pandelo. He told them which careers have potential today, as well as introduced them to some of the leading women in the field of technology outside and inside our institute. He then gave them an introductory Python class in order to give them an idea of the enormous possibilities offered by this programming language and also to motivate them to continue exploring on their own.

After this session, our PhD student Aniketh Girish talked to them about the importance of taking care of their online privacy and how some apps steal user data without their consent. On the other hand, our pre-doctoral researcher Vinuri Bandara explained the vulnerabilities of Android devices in an informative way. In addition, they complemented the talks in English with a visit to the IoT and Cybersecurity laboratory, where they saw a farm of smartphones heavily instrumented to collect evidence of their behavior and threats.

To finish, our colleague Beatriz Martín, project manager, has talked to them about the Teleco Renta program and the advantages of studying Telecommunications Engineering. Afterwards, they tested the knowledge acquired during these two days through an escape room about the world of telecommunications. This informative game has been designed by IMDEA Networks together with other partners (COIT, UPM, etc.) as part of the PROMIN project, funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and the European Union-NextGenerationEU through the UNICO-5G R&D Program of the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

We hope this first contact with the working world has been enriching and that your time at IMDEA Networks has awakened your interest in science and technology.