Cloud Computing Career Panel
Join us for a panel discussion featuring industry leaders and experts discussing careers in cloud computing. This online event is designed to provide insights into the latest trends, challenges and innovations in cloud technology, with a focus on practical applications and career pathways. Whether you are an aspiring cloud professional, a current student or an experienced practitioner, this event will offer valuable perspectives on the ever-evolving cloud computing career landscape.
Panel Moderator Ahmed Ismail: UVA Cloud Computing Career Coach
Bio: Ahmed recently started as a Cloud Computing Career Coach to support prospective and current students navigating transitions into the growing cloud space. He is a software engineer with a Master's in Cloud Computing Systems and four cloud certifications across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. He is a self-taught software engineer and has a diverse set of experiences that include lobbying for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, conducting research for the Department of Energy, and working on the national board for a multi-million dollar non-profit called National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
Confirmed Panelists and UVA Representatives:
- Uma Abu: Software Engineer, Microsoft
Bio: Uma is a Software Engineer at Microsoft, Tech Content Creator, and Career Coach, helping software engineers level up their skills. As the Co-founder and CTO of Candoor, Uma supports underserved students and young professionals by connecting them with industry leaders for 1-on-1 mentorship. Through his social media channels and YouTube, he shares insights and practical advice to empower engineers in advancing their careers. Uma holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering from Iowa State University.
- Abdelwadood Daoud: Senior Program Manager, Microsoft
Bio: Abdelwadood Daoud is the CEO & Co-Founder at Candoor, a web platform democratizing access to transformative careers through candid conversations. He is a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft and previously worked at Tesla and the US Department of Energy. He graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor's in Mech. Engineering and was heavily involved with the National Society of Black Engineers, where he served as National Finance Chair focused on building partnerships. He co-founded Candoor to give as many people as possible the same “chance” he was given, believing that anything can be achieved with the right mix of knowledge, networking, and confidence.
- Kiran Chittargi: Program Coordinator and Lecturer, UVA Cloud Computing
Bio: Kiran Chittargi serves as the Program Coordinator for UVA’s Cloud Computing Certificate. He has more than 20 years of experience in the software engineering arena, specializing in large scale enterprise systems with a particular focus on Big Data (Hadoop, MapReduce, Pig, Hive, Spark, etc.), Java, Ruby/Rails, Angular JS, and a wide variety of web and open source technologies. He has extensive experience in both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
He currently serves as a Senior Manager at Microsoft. Kiran holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an M.S. in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. He is also certified by the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a PMI Certified Agile Practitioner (PMI-ACP).
In addition to serving as a Lecturer at the UVA School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Kiran is also an Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University and was a recipient of the prestigious "Excellency in Teaching" award in 2011. He is an active member of the developer community and speaks regularly at various conferences and seminars.