Location: Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology (MBCET), Thiruvananthapuram
Program: Advanced Internet Operations Research in India (AIORI) Regional Faculty Workshop
Associated Partner: Internet Society – India Kolkata Chapter
The AIORI Regional Faculty Workshop held at Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology (MBCET) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on July 29, 2025, was one of the most helpful and informative ones yet. This important event helped AIORI achieve its main goals of improving the country’s skills in Internet Engineering, encouraging the use of open standards, and developing expertise in the latest digital technologies. Both students and professors were really excited and involved in the workshop.
Several schools in the area, like Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Kings College of Engineering, St. Joseph’s Institute of Technology, K. Ramakrishnan College of Technology, VIT Chennai, Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology, Roever Engineering College, Agni College of Technology, Anand Institute of Higher Technology, Panimalar Engineering College, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, M.A.M. College of Engineering and Technology, KCG College of Technology, and M.A.M. School of Engineering, added to the day’s warmth and collaborative energy. These schools reflected the shared academic spirit that surrounds AIORI’s growing network of collaborators. Their participation as a group created a sense of community, unity, and shared purpose that improved the mood and showed how dedicated the area is to digital advancement.
The day started with a strong institutional focus on the importance of training young engineers to not only understand but also actively shape the future of the internet and make sound digital policy. This aligned all participants with the common goal of empowering future innovators in the digital space.
Engineering the Internet’s Foundation
Mr. Anand Raje, Chair of the Internet Society – India Kolkata Chapter, gave a technically sound and intellectually stimulating talk on “AIORI & Internet Engineering” at the first main session. As soon as he started talking, attendees had a crystal-clear picture of the internet’s underlying structure. Effective domain name system (DNS) management, routing protocol dynamics, internet scalability, and the crucial, growing need for building strong indigenous competence in these fundamental technological domains were all deftly handled by Mr Raje.
Participants were immediately engrossed in the vital field of Internet Infrastructure technologies, thanks to Mr Raje’s talent for breaking down difficult engineering concepts into easily understandable terms.
After this foundational technical session, the workshop moved on to a more interactive session with Mr. Anupam Agrawal (Chair IIFON) discussing the “AIORI Ambassadors initiative.” National hackathons, focused research sprints, and crucial innovation pushes are just a few of the exciting options he enthusiastically described for students. By giving students experience with real-world technological problems and encouraging them to work together and share what they know, Mr. Agrawal made it clear that the AIORI program is meant to cultivate future leaders.
Collaborative Digital Policy and National Initiatives
The program then moved on to an essential part that focused on how different key stakeholders work together. These include government agencies, specialised research foundations, and technological organisations all working together to improve the country’s digital infrastructure. Students learnt that this kind of collaboration from many different groups is what makes innovation happen. It successfully connects profound technical research with good public policy.
Another very integral part of the program focused on the current work of MeitY and NIXI. This part taught students about important national programs that are working to improve routing systems and bring high-quality, reliable internet access to people all around the country. This talk invited students to think about how broad national digital policies fit together with basic engineering concepts and initiatives to standardise technology, giving them a big picture view of digital governance.
Hands-On Platforms and Global Standards
As the workshop progressed and the momentum built, the audience was introduced to the “AIORI Anchors initiative” through a highly interactive and practical demonstration delivered by Mr. Anand Raje. This highly appreciated session exposed the eager participants to the practical capabilities of AIORI’s specialized technology platforms and tools, allowing them to explore real-time data processing, network simulations, and advanced engineering tools that students could directly leverage in their own academic and research projects. A total of 14 AIORI Anchors were deployed, giving the institution and its students a heartfelt sense of pride in contributing to India’s growing network of collaborative measurement nodes.
The learning momentum continued with an insightful session dedicated to the inner workings of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The speaker expertly walked the participants through the detailed, consensus-driven process of how global internet standards are formally drafted, rigorously reviewed, technically debated, and ultimately adopted. This segment served as a clear call to action, encouraging students to actively participate in global technical communities and formally begin their journey in standardization-driven engineering.
Reinforcing a Digital Future
The culminating event was the closing session, which featured warm reflections, formal acknowledgments, and the distribution of participation certificates, concluding with strong enthusiasm for future collaborative endeavors. The Trivandrum workshop successfully combined rigorous technical knowledge, crucial governance insight, and essential hands-on demonstration, proving its comprehensive impact.
As an Associate Partner, the Internet Society – India Kolkata Chapter played a crucial and supportive role in the resounding success of the Trivandrum workshop. Our involvement, consistently guided by the Internet Society’s mission to advance the open development and beneficial use of the Internet, directly enhanced the quality of content delivery, strengthened the logistical execution, and enabled a seamless, high-quality learning environment for every attendee. The successful event powerfully reinforced AIORI’s overarching mission of empowering the next generation of engineers to build and sustain a robust, measurable, and secure digital future for the nation.
