Duke Cybersecurity Student Will Intern with CISCO

Rahul Rodrigues came to Duke from Mumbai, India, to become a Cybersecurity expert. He recently received great news: he received an offer from CISCO to work over the summer of 2024 as a security consultant engineer technical intern II.

“Cisco is at the forefront of cybersecurity and is one of the leaders with many exciting career roles. I browsed for openings on the company’s website and was extremely delighted to be invited to an interview,” he said.

I asked him how the program prepared him for this opportunity. He started by describing the interview process. The recruiters wanted to assess his technical, communication, and interpersonal skills because the role requires stakeholder interactions. “The ME in Cybersecurity helped me develop as a professional with technical, policy, and leadership knowledge. I want to mention a few courses that were of key importance. MENG 540 – Management of High-Tech Industries built communication, leadership, and management skills. CYBERSEC 500 – Introduction to Cybersecurity Perspectives taught me the cybersecurity fundamentals, including network scanning and vulnerability analysis. In CYBERSEC 590 – Cloud Cybersecurity and Operations, I learned about various cloud models and cybersecurity operations. Finally, CYBERSEC 521 – Cybersecurity Program Development, Operations, and Analysis taught me leadership skills and the foundations of how to be a chief information security officer,” Rahul explained. Further, he enhanced his technical skills by pursuing Cyberbit lab training and his role at the Security Operations Center within the Duke Office of Information Technology. “The Duke Cybersecurity program has enabled me to take my career to the next level. It has driven my interest to take on new opportunities with confidence. Some key skills I have gained include critical thinking, communication, leadership, team management, interdisciplinary Thinking, and problem-solving,” Rahul said. After his internship, Rahul will continue for one more semester at Duke. When he graduates in December 2024, he will already have two work roles in his portfolio: at the Duke Office of Information Technology and CISCO. He will undoubtedly be ready for the next.