The INI Celebrates 35 Years of Community, Accomplishments and Impact

The Café Carnegie was buzzing with alumni, faculty, staff and campus partners during Carnegie Mellon’s Carnival weekend as the Information Networking Institute (INI) celebrated its 35th anniversary.  

The INI started in 1989 as a unique graduate program built for the employees of Bellcore, combining computer science and engineering with business, management and policy. Today, it has grown to offer five interdisciplinary master’s degrees spanning information networking, information security, artificial intelligence and mobile and Internet of Things, with nearly 3,000 alumni around the globe.  

Alumni from the INI’s earliest days—employees of Bellcore who were the first to graduate with a CMU M.S. in Information Networking (MSIN)—traveled to Pittsburgh for the occasion, along with alumni from each successive decade. Campus partners from across CMU who have helped teach INI students and support INI programs were present to join the celebration.  

INI Director Dr. Dena Haritos Tsamitis opened the event by reflecting on the INI’s beginnings and tracing its growth over the past three and a half decades. 

“In a time when our community ties and commitment to education are more important than ever, I want to start by recognizing what has made the INI what it is today: you, the people in this room,” said Dr. Haritos Tsamitis. “Alumni, faculty, staff, CMU colleagues—you’ve built this. You’ve nurtured and sustained it, helping it grow into something we can all be proud of.” 

Following Dr. Haritos Tsamitis, Provost James Garrett shared remarks that reflected on the INI’s remarkable trajectory of growth and leadership of CMU’s global programs and reputation for excellence in cybersecurity education. Provost Garrett uplifted Dr. Haritos Tsamitis’s transformative contributions to the INI over her 21-year role as its director, including launching the university’s first global program in Athens, Greece, leading efforts to secure and sustain the university’s status as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) by the National Security Agency (NSA) and developing new educational paradigms to meet the changing market.  

Provost Garrett ended his speech by recognizing Dr. Haritos Tsamitis as the 2025 recipient of the Robert E. Doherty Award for substantial and sustained contributions to education, a career-defining honor that recognizes Carnegie Mellon leaders who have transformed education at the university. Dr. Haritos Tsamitis will officially receive the award during the annual Celebration of Education event later this month. 

Dean William H. Sanders took the stage next, reflecting on the INI’s role as an innovator within the College of Engineering. He also recognized INI founder Dr. Marvin Sirbu, Professor Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy and the Tepper School of Business, for his foresight in developing the unique MSIN for Bellcore. Finally, Dr. Sirbu shared his reflections on the origins of the INI and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration at Carnegie Mellon. 

Explore photos from the event.

Beyond the 35th celebration on Saturday, Carnival weekend brought several moments of celebration. 

The College of Engineering Alumni Awards recognized two INI alumni for their contributions: Mike Bruce (MSIN 1995), chairman and CEO of Sirius Talent Group, for his lifelong commitment to the College community and service on the Dean’s Advisory Council; and Erye Hernandez (MSIS 2014), staff security engineer of Google’s Threat Analysis Group, for her mentorship of the Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP), CMU’s high-performing hacking team. 

An INI alum was inducted into the Tartans on the Rise 2025 cohort: Karan Dwivedi (MSIS 2016), a security engineering manager at Google, was recognized for his technical contributions to Yahoo and then Google, in addition to his mentorship of young security engineers. Three previous INI alumni have been recognized as Tartans on the Rise: Hao-Wei Chen (MSIS 2013) in 2024 for his leadership of security engineering at Audible; Rohyt Belani (MSIN 2002) in 2023 for his contributions as a startup founder in the security space; and Hooman Radfar (MSIN 2004) also in 2023 for his success as a serial entrepreneur.  

The INI also celebrated its 35th anniversary with current students, hosting a student social in the INI Building that brought students, staff, faculty and alumni together. The event featured local inclusive artist Ebtehal Badawi, who led participants in creating a collaborative mural that recognizes the importance of building bridges as a community.