2025 INI Practicum Showcase Celebrates Student Successes
By Evan Lybrand
Media InquiriesOn Wednesday, December 3, students at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley (CMU-SV) celebrated the completion of their Information Networking Institute (INI) Practicum projects. The Practicum Showcase and Networking Reception is held at the end of the semester at CMU-SV after students conclude a semester-long project sponsored by major companies, government agencies, nonprofits and startups from across the country.
Practicum is a key feature of the M.S. in Information Technology – Information Security (MSIT-IS) and M.S. in Mobile and IoT Engineering (MSMITE) degrees that integrates the knowledge and skills students have built through coursework with an opportunity to contribute to real-world solutions.
Bicoastal students have the unique opportunity to experience graduate school at both CMU in Pittsburgh and CMU-SV. They begin with the rest of their cohort in Pittsburgh for the first year of their program. During their second year, they transition to and complete their studies in Silicon Valley, where they can immerse themselves in the center of tech innovation. The largest concentration of INI alumni is located in Silicon Valley, with one-third of our alumni located in the area. This is a chance for bicoastal students to grow their network and learn from leaders in the field.
During the Fall semester, students worked closely with professionals across the country on complex problems. Projects this year include developing an interactive platform to help users explore and interpret economic data, conducting simulated cyberattacks for major cities, improving programming libraries and developing artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. Learn more about the 2025 INI Practicum Projects.
“I worked on Post Roads Foundation’s main transactive energy piolet project as part of the red team," said MSIT-IS graduate Nishant Puri. "As a part of this project we decided to hack and secure the gateway device that will be deployed in homes across Main. This has been a fascinating experience, it introduced me not only to the world or red teaming, but also very niche areas in the security domain.
"For me personally, the most important the most important and exciting part was the hardware security attacks. We were able to find very niche attacks and try it out on an actual device, which I believe I would have never been able to do in a different setting."
