19
November
2024

Events From the Community

My Week at TechEX24: Kapil Agrawal From ESnet

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By Amber Rasche - Senior Communications Specialist, Internet2

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

In this My Week at TechEX24 series, we spotlight research and education (R&E) community members as they gear up for the Internet2 Technology Exchange, Dec. 9-13, in Boston, MA.

Kapil Agrawal, security engineer at ESnet, is presenting this year on “Secure Development Practices for the Next-Gen Automation Engineer” on Thursday, Dec. 12. He is a three-time TechEX attendee with 10 years of experience in the R&E community.

For Agrawal, TechEX is a bit like “drinking the networking Kool-Aid through a firehose.” To make the most of this high-energy experience, he takes time afterward to pause and reflect — distilling conversations and new ideas into practical strategies that fuel progress long after the event.

“When developers in R&E who work at the intersection of networking and software come together to share ideas, there is no end to the amount of inspiration one can draw,” Agrawal said.

In this Q&A, he shares his perspective as a security professional on what highlights to expect in the TechEX24 program, from Zero Trust discussions to the GPG Key Signing Party.

Kapil Agrawal profile picture

Kapil Agrawal

  • Security Engineer, ESnet
  • Returning TechEX Attendee and TechEX24 Speaker: “Secure Development Practices for the Next-Gen Automation Engineer”
  • Years of Experience in the R&E Community: 10
  • Track of Interest: Information Security


What session or speaker are you most excited about at the 2024 Internet2 Technology Exchange?


Agrawal: I am most looking forward to the NetCoder BoF discussion on Wednesday, Dec. 11. When developers in R&E who work at the intersection of networking and software come together to share ideas, there is no end to the amount of inspiration one can draw.


TechEX is also a great conference for cross-topic exploration. Are there session highlights from any of the other tracks you plan to attend?


Agrawal: In the Advanced Networking track, I am interested in Python to Go on Thursday, Dec. 12. I have been picking up Golang (the Go programming language) lately to help support bug fixes and documentation for some open-source security tools we use at ESnet. I look forward to connecting with other like-minded people in the community who are also transitioning to Golang.

In the Cloud Technology track, Rapid and Automated Application Deployment on Tuesday, Dec. 10, caught my attention. I am curious to learn how other organizations are baking security into their development and deployment pipelines.


What’s one innovative topic or trend in advanced networking, cloud, identity and access management, or security that you’re eager to explore more deeply at the event?


Agrawal: Zero Trust. I would love to learn how others in the community are approaching Zero Trust architecture and what challenges they’re running into. 

At ESnet, we have also embarked on this journey, approaching Zero Trust as a framework and set of architectural design principles that assume an adversary has access to the internal network rather than relying solely on the network perimeter as our only line of defense.


TechEX offers plenty of opportunities for fun and networking. Which social activities are you most looking forward to?


Agrawal: Two social events sound super fun: Party Time! GPG Key Signing Party on Wednesday, Dec. 11, and Tales from the Trenches III over lunch on the same day.


What keeps you coming back to TechEX, and what advice do you have for first-time attendees?


Agrawal: This conference is all about networking — both literally and figuratively! Attending TechEX can feel like drinking the networking Kool-Aid through a firehose, and it can be a bit overwhelming. 

I find it useful to take some time afterward to reflect on the conversations I had with my colleagues. Processing all the interesting ideas I came across during the talks and seeing how those can be applied in practice is the real value-add.

Plan Your Week at TechEX24 and Register Today

Are you ready to join us in Boston, Dec. 9-13? If you haven’t yet registered for the 2024 Internet2 Technology Exchange, now is the time! 

Don’t miss out — explore the full program and secure your spot. Connect with peers, gain fresh insights, and be part of one of the year’s most essential gatherings for IT professionals in R&E.


Register Today
TechEX24

About the Author(s)

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Amber Rasche arasche@internet2.edu

Senior Communications Specialist, Internet2

Amber Rasche contributes to Internet2’s strategic communications and public relations efforts. She has 10 years of experience with the research and education community, serving previous roles in both higher education information technology and government high-performance network environments.