Jakub Pružinec, a graduate of FIT (Faculty of Information Technology), has been working in distant Singapore for over two years. At Nanyang Technological University (NTU), he is a research assistant in the HP-NTU Corporate Lab, a new laboratory created by a collaboration between the university and HP company. “You get a taste of both the academic world and industry here,” says Jakub Pružinec.
He got to the University of Singapore in a rather unconventional way. After completing my bachelor's thesis, I was looking for research opportunities in which I could gain experience and, more importantly, references for future doctoral study. “I came across the university website of Professor Liu Yang, who runs several security laboratories at NTU, where he was offering research positions for a new laboratories. These were intended for post-graduates and I, as an undergraduate student just before my state exams, wrote to him with only a little soul,” Jakub Pružinec laughs today.
As he adds, the study results, the support of Professor Černocký, who recommended Jakub through mutual friends, and of course luck helped. “During my studies at FIT, I met many exceptionally intelligent and capable students. I was surprised, however, that they often did not realize this and considered foreign programs out of their reach. FIT is a demanding school, but it gives you everything you need to fully realize yourself. You just have to try,” says Jakub Pružinec.
Today, he works in the security team, which is mainly engaged in malware analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of security measures. “In research, you have to keep learning. De facto, I am partly paid for education and training. I have a free hand at work and I can do what interests me. It's a perfect job for young and especially curious people,” says Jakub.
But as he says, it was not easy to get used to it. “The biggest challenge is clearly the separation from the family. It's the price of discovering the world. In addition, you constantly perceive that you have a different dialect, customs and especially a sense of humour. Many times I had to save the situation with the magic words just kidding,” Jakub laughs and adds that he eventually fell in love with Singapore. “It's a very lively place with five million people, you make friends and build a background very quickly,” he says.
He has no plans to return to Europe anytime soon. “Here you have a great opportunity to publish and patent your results. Such references are very valuable when applying for further study, academic positions or jobs in industry. And I would like to start my doctoral study after finishing some projects. Preferably in America,” he says.
(FIT VUT)