Written by: Sivasankar Veerabhadran, May 2015 graduate from Brandeis GPS‘ M.S. in Information Security and Consultant Solutions Engineer at EMC
Twenty-five years ago, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from a university in India. Ever since graduating I wanted to pursue my Master’s degree from a highly regarded university in the United States. My dream finally came true this spring as a result of the commitment to continuing education for working professionals (like myself)from both EMC Corporation & Brandeis University.
Working in Information Technology, it is extremely important to keep up-to-date with the technology and skills needed to excel in the current global market. I strongly felt that I should not invest my time and effort on education at this stage of my life just to get another degree. Instead, my education should guide me and give me the confidence to take my career to the next level. In addition, if it is 
in one of the relevant technical fields like Information Security from a highly regarded university like Brandeis, it is a huge plus.
Some of the following courses offered as part of my Master’s degree program are my favorite ones. In addition to learning from the professors, text books, and related materials, I learned a lot from fellow students and their real world working experiences, who all are professionals with extensive knowledge in their respective fields.
- Information Technology Forensics and Investigations,
- Cloud Security
- Applied Cryptography and Identity Management
- Network Security
- IT Security and Compliance
I have to say this, while looking for the options to continue my education at various universities, the integration of Brandeis GPS courses with our internal Educational Services portal at EMC, and the related approval work flow model was one of the reasons I have decided to start and continue my professional studies with Brandeis University. The process was as easy as signing up for any internal training courses.
Sankar & his student advisor, Janice
I really would like to express my thanks and appreciation to our student advisor Janice Steinberg for all the advice provided to me during the entire program. I really thought that after all these years getting the “Education Credential Evaluation” done for all my old school diplomas and college degrees completed in India must be a huge process. Janice helped me with the whole process and made it so simple that I could apply for the actual program after a long break with 4 courses.
Along with my wife, kids, family, and parents, my manager Charlie Dellacona also motivated me a lot to complete this degree. He always insisted on the importance of education along with experience for professionals like us to advance our career to the next level. A bit of his advice, “Sankar, education is the best investment you can make for yourself and also for your family, which is always yours no matter where life takes you,” this was the greatest motivational factor.
As per my professor’s advice, I am currently working on getting “Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) “ & Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certifications. I am looking forward to contribute a lot to Cloud security based initiatives.
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