IBM ISDL VISIT
Recently, I had a great opportunity to visit IBM ISDL, and I want to share this valuable experience with the readers!
How I Got the Invitation:
On October 21, 2023, a tech-for-good Datathon was organized by the Shooting Stars Foundation, powered by IBM. Our team, the ‘Data Detectives,’ won the Datathon in the in-person category in Chennai .
One of the perks was the opportunity to visit IBM’s ISDL and network with knowledgeable SMEs at IBM.
The Venue:
IBM’s ISDL is located in Bharatiya City Centre, Bangalore. Upon arrival, we were accompanied by an IBM staff member to the 14th floor, where our actual learning journey began.
Kickoff session:
Mr. Srinivas Bhatt, Program Director of Z Hybrid Cloud, initiated the event by extending warm greetings and offering a heartfelt welcome. He congratulated us on our victory, emphasizing the significance of Z in our evolving world. Following this, Ms. Sudharsana Srinivasan, IBM Z’s Technical Enablement Manager, who orchestrated the extensive Datathon successfully across three different locations. She appreciated our active participation and extended best wishes for continued success in our future endeavors.
Project Explanation:
Each Datathon team was given 5 minutes to explain their projects, which were heard by various SMEs present at the venue. Everyone actively engaged in the students’ explanations, asking questions, and pointing out loopholes that, when rectified, could significantly improve the project’s quality. It proved to be a useful session where we demonstrated our ideology and the core concept of our project, gaining insights from the experts.
Z Ambassadors:
I also had the chance to connect with Mr. Mohammed Aathil, Ms. Kiruthika Subramani, Mr. Rituraj Mahato, Ms. Afia Jeyacarmela, and Ms. Shirisha. They took over the podium and started sharing their experiences and views about the Z platform. They emphasized the existence and the importance that a mainframe holds in the financial sectors and how IBM maintains the Z — zero downtime in their IBM Z technologies.
Hearing about IBM’s technologies, their superiority, and their security features from the ambassadors really piqued my interest in knowing more about the mainframe technologies.
Lab Tour:
The IBM staff provided a thorough session on various processors and flash memory. They highlighted the IBM Telum, a Dual Chip Module (DCM) processor. Their explanation with actual processors and components was not only interesting but also incredibly informative, demonstrating the inner workings of the systems.
Following that session, we embarked on our lab tour, witnessing firsthand all the components that constitute IBM servers. My initial exposure to the robust Z mainframes was through a virtual tour by Mr. PJ Catalano, organized by the Z Ambassador Mr. Rituraj Mahato. Since then, I had a keen interest in learning more about Z mainframes. Getting to see the actual Z mainframe was a rewarding experience for me !
All the staff were kind in explaining how they maintain Z and the security aspects for users. The fact that the chamber is only accessible to some authorized personnel shows the value and importance in the servers. Visually seeing the hardware made me realize there’s a whole new world of technology people tend to overlook. Learning about a computer isn’t just about its software; it’s also understanding the hardware components.
IBM can still be the best in this competitive world because of their constant research and turning the traditional system into AI-integrated and secure systems. They genuinely focus on keeping tabs on the security aspects of each product, making their system trustworthy for larger financial transactions.
Round Table with Mentors:
Here comes my favorite part — the project discussion with our mentors. Each team was assigned one or two SMEs to mentor us in developing our project further. Our team was fortunate to have Ms. Dhivya Kulkarni and Mr. Nasser Ebrahim as our mentors. Unfortunately, due to some inconvenience, Mr. Nasser couldn’t join the visit, so we were accompanied by Ms. Sai Hemavalli Kanduri. Both mentors provided a concise yet clear description of how to develop a project, what needs to be done, and where our focus should be to improve our existing project.
Initially, I felt a bit intimidated by their expertise, but they were kind and motivated us to enhance the project. They even provided a mind map on how things should be approached. Having a casual chat with them truly boosted my enthusiasm to learn and grow.
Along the way, we had the chance to meet Ms. Subhathra Srinivasaraghavan, the Vice President of ISDL. She was energetic and also encouraged us to stay in touch with our SMEs and gain knowledge from them. She also spoke about the resiliency and security that a Z server can achieve at its full potential and how it revolutionizes the financial and medical sectors.
We also had a luncheon meeting with our mentors where we discussed algorithms and frameworks for our project. We even talked about college life and the path they took to become SMEs. Speaking with our mentors, I realized that,“ No one starts as a prodigy. The will to learn and determined hard work can only lead us to achieve greater knowledge”.
A Memorable visit:
After such a lovely afternoon in the IBM ISDL , I left with utter motivation to complete our project and lots of hope to visit the lab once more.
Gratitude:
I’m thankful for the staffs who took time to explain our doubts, the SMEs who motivated us to learn more, and the organizers who made this event memorable. I can’t remember all the names, but you guys inspired me to write my first blog about this memorable day. I hope many students get the opportunity to visit the ISDL because it has the zeal to motivate learners to achieve greater heights.
We also took lots and lots of pictures in the lab. The staffs and ambassadors were kind enough to click some pics with us and network. Grateful for the visit!
Last but not least, I want to thank my teammates Sabitha, Blessy, Sandhya, Shalini and Priya for being with me throughout this journey, supporting each other and growing together every day.
#IBM #Datathon2023 #ISDL
