{"id":27,"date":"2025-04-22T17:38:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T17:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/?p=27"},"modified":"2025-04-22T17:38:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T17:38:25","slug":"2025-tech-industry-panel-navigating-tech-careers-from-academia-to-industry-and-entrepreneurship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/2025\/04\/22\/2025-tech-industry-panel-navigating-tech-careers-from-academia-to-industry-and-entrepreneurship\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Tech Industry Panel: Navigating Tech Careers \u2013 From Academia to Industry and Entrepreneurship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udd17 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kvNEFKfOpR0\">Watch the Full Video on YouTube<\/a><br data-start=\"199\" data-end=\"202\" \/><em data-start=\"202\" data-end=\"255\">(This event was held on March 13, 2025)<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"472\" data-end=\"743\">The 2025 Tech Industry Panel was hosted at the University of the Fraser Valley by the School of Computing. This year\u2019s event brought together an inspiring lineup of thought leaders and trailblazers who offered valuable insights into the evolving landscape of tech careers, providing students, aspiring entrepreneurs, and professionals with a unique opportunity to explore diverse career pathways, learn from real-world experiences, and gain practical advice on navigating the tech world.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"745\" data-end=\"770\">\ud83c\udfa4 Meet the Panelists<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"772\" data-end=\"891\">Each panelist brought a unique perspective on transitioning from academia to thriving in industry and entrepreneurship:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"893\" data-end=\"1491\">\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"893\" data-end=\"1041\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"895\" data-end=\"1041\"><strong data-start=\"895\" data-end=\"915\">Prashant Agrawal<\/strong> \u2013 Founder of <em data-start=\"929\" data-end=\"941\">Be Pacific<\/em>, a multi-venture entrepreneur with a passion for building impactful businesses across industries.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1042\" data-end=\"1211\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1044\" data-end=\"1211\"><strong data-start=\"1044\" data-end=\"1058\">Raza Mirza<\/strong> \u2013 Software Development Manager and Engineering Coach at <em data-start=\"1115\" data-end=\"1123\">Amazon<\/em>, offering deep insights into team leadership and what tech giants look for in talent.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1212\" data-end=\"1338\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1214\" data-end=\"1338\"><strong data-start=\"1214\" data-end=\"1234\">Isabelle Schmidt<\/strong> \u2013 Fractional CIO at <em data-start=\"1255\" data-end=\"1269\">improvingIT.<\/em>, helping startups and SMEs harness tech for growth and innovation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1339\" data-end=\"1491\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1341\" data-end=\"1491\"><strong data-start=\"1341\" data-end=\"1355\">Jason Wong<\/strong> \u2013 Founder of <em data-start=\"1369\" data-end=\"1386\">Beta Collective<\/em> and Co-founder of <em data-start=\"1405\" data-end=\"1427\">Coworking BC Society<\/em>, championing co-working spaces and community-driven innovation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"1493\" data-end=\"1519\">\ud83d\udca1 Key Topics Explored<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1521\" data-end=\"1586\">The conversation was packed with thoughtful takeaways, including:<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1588\" data-end=\"2163\">\u2705 <strong data-start=\"1590\" data-end=\"1617\">Career Pathways in Tech<\/strong> \u2013 From research labs to boardrooms, panelists shared the non-linear journeys that led them to where they are today.<br data-start=\"1733\" data-end=\"1736\" \/>\u2705 <strong data-start=\"1738\" data-end=\"1776\">Skills and Experiences That Matter<\/strong> \u2013 What does the industry really value? The panel broke down both the hard and soft skills that make candidates stand out.<br data-start=\"1898\" data-end=\"1901\" \/>\u2705 <strong data-start=\"1903\" data-end=\"1953\">Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities<\/strong> \u2013 Real talk on the highs and lows of launching and scaling tech ventures.<br data-start=\"2027\" data-end=\"2030\" \/>\u2705 <strong data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2054\">The Future of Tech<\/strong> \u2013 Insightful predictions on emerging trends, the impact of AI, and how to stay ahead in a fast-moving field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2165\" data-end=\"2327\">Whether you&#8217;re a student exploring options, a researcher eyeing a shift to industry, or an aspiring founder, this panel was packed with gems to help you level up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2329\" data-end=\"2512\">\ud83d\udccc <strong data-start=\"2332\" data-end=\"2387\">Want more tech career advice and industry insights?<\/strong><br data-start=\"2387\" data-end=\"2390\" \/>Create a LinkedIn profile and connect with our panelists\u00a0to stay updated on upcoming panels, events, and expert perspectives that can help shape your career journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udd17 Watch the Full Video on YouTube(This event was held on March 13, 2025) The 2025 Tech Industry Panel was hosted at the University of the Fraser Valley by the School of Computing. This year\u2019s event brought together an inspiring lineup of thought leaders and trailblazers who offered valuable insights into the evolving landscape of &#8230; <a title=\"2025 Tech Industry Panel: Navigating Tech Careers \u2013 From Academia to Industry and Entrepreneurship\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/2025\/04\/22\/2025-tech-industry-panel-navigating-tech-careers-from-academia-to-industry-and-entrepreneurship\/\" aria-label=\"More on 2025 Tech Industry Panel: Navigating Tech Careers \u2013 From Academia to Industry and Entrepreneurship\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":277,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/277"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions\/29"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}