UOIT students volunteer with NBA All-Star 2016 tech ‘Dream Team’

Five University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Networking and Information Technology (IT) Security students played a big role behind the scenes at the 65th National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game held on February 14 in Toronto, Ontario.

Through the university’s partnership with Cisco Systems Inc. - official technology partner of the NBA - the students were nominated to the Cisco Networking Academy Dream Team, which provides them with opportunities to work side-by-side with engineers to help design, deploy and maintain networks and IT infrastructure at high-profile events.

UOIT student volunteers:

• Safwan Alam (Year 3)
• Suleman Ali (Year 4)
• Anthony Mitri (Year 2)
• Imraan Ali Rahemtulla (Year 4)
• Danish Shaikh (Year 3)

The students’ responsibilities included:

• deploying and securing hardware
• running and terminating cables
• configuring devices
• troubleshooting technical problems
• reading and interpreting network documentation
• setting up 3G/4G hotspots
• purchasing cables and other accessories

Working with the NBA’s technology engineers, the students learned about network security technologies such as firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and network access control. They also gained experience deploying wide-area, multi-building networks, including:

• Internet access
• metro Ethernet
• voice-over-IP (VoIP)
• wireless access points

“It was great to have a chance to apply the skills that we’ve been learning in class to a real-world, large-scale event,” said Imraan Ali Rahemtulla. “This opportunity has provided an unforgettable and everlasting experience, and all of the skills we picked up will be extremely valuable following graduation.”

“This was a great opportunity overall,” added Suleman Ali. “We were able to see how a network is deployed for an event of this size. Working alongside industry experts also provided us with invaluable guidance and mentorship.” 

“Our partnership with Cisco Systems Inc. continues to provide our students with many experiential, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that benefit the students in so many ways,” said Josh Lowe, Senior Lecturer and Student Affairs Co-ordinator, Faculty of Business and Information Technology. “Our students are provided with opportunities to put their skills to the test in challenging and real-life scenarios.”

The students worked at multiple event venues, including:

• Air Canada Centre
• Enercare Centre
• Ricoh Coliseum

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