We recently had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Amer El Tagi, an Intercollege/University of Nicosia alumni. He gladly took the time to talk about his successful career and to share fond recollections of his student years at his first home away from home. Mr. Amer obtained a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science in 2005 and expressed an interest in pursuing a postgraduate degree at the University provided that he has more time on his hands – noting that this is not an easy task for managing directors! Further into the interview, we discovered other interesting facts concerning Mr. Amer, which we gladly share in the following interview.

How would you describe your university years?

The best time of my life! It was my first home because it was here that I felt my life began; I felt as though I was finally heading somewhere.

The help that I received from the institution throughout my studies was amazing. I will never forget the support provided by Dr. Peristianis, as well as my fellow colleagues from the Computer Center and those who helped me get that job. I remember Melina, the assistant of Dr. Solomou, who was the Campus Director at the time, walking into the classroom and announcing that he wished to have a meeting with me after class. I was so stressed; I thought I did something wrong!

What was your position in the Computer Center and did it help you gain experience relevant to your field of studies?

My position was an IT assistant.  It didn’t help me with my classes but it did help me understand that hardware was dead and that software was the area that I wanted to focus on. It helped me realize that I enjoyed programming and that is how I started out. I began creating programmes and I actually developed a couple of them for Intercollege/University of Nicosia – I even got paid for one of them.

What do you think about the major in general?

I would say that, at the time, the courses were more theoretical than practical. This might have changed in the last nine years.

Do you or have you hired employees that were or are students of Intercollege/ University of Nicosia?

Yes, I have and will continue to do so as it has proven to be a great choice. In fact, one of the best designers I had was Andreas Kyprianou, who was a graduate of the University of Nicosia. He is an amazing talent and I was very pleased with his work performance.

Do you have any suggestions for current or potential students?

Honestly? To study, study, study! They should also start to think about what they want to do – to pick a field they like and focus on it. Obtaining a job in the relevant field while being a student is going to help them determine what it is that they like and this experience will assist them with their future careers.

How long after graduation did you start your own business?

I was working at the Computer Center and as a freelancer for 3 years during my studies. This helped me build a network and taught me many things that enabled me to start my own business a year after completing my degree.

What is it that you do?

I am the Managing Director of EVENZIA TECHNOLOGIES LTD, which deals mainly with website development but we provide various other services, such as training courses, design, etc. However, as I said, we mainly create websites and our client list consists of some important organizations and businesses such as Pascal Education, EDEK, Astra Radio Station, Honda Motors, Peazinou Vending Ltd, Laiko Group, Aqua Sol Hotels, for example.

Where did you see yourself at this age when you were still a student?

Somewhere on a Jamaican island! I’m only kidding. Honestly, I imagined myself as a lecturer.  I would love to be a part of the University of Nicosia team and have the opportunity to convey what I know to others.

What was the hardest or most valuable lesson you had to learn about being someone’s boss?

I think that being friends with your employees is a huge plus; however, in saying that, one must understand that there’s a great risk with this approach as being too friendly with an employee could influence their performance in a negative way and that could cause difficulties.

Your company offers training courses. What exactly are these courses?

Building an application for a computer is not the same as building an application on the Internet. For example, Facebook is not a website – it is an online system. We teach people to build dynamic websites, which means that, unlike static websites which are informative, one can log in and update the content themselves. An example of such a website is a restaurant’s online ordering menu.  The main objective of the courses is teaching students how to build a Content Management System (CMS), which is very difficult.

What do you think about the University’s website?

From my personal experience and perspective, I believe a university website should be responsive, meaning that it should support mobile and tablet devices in spite of the fact that there is a separate mobile application. Also, I don’t know if there are language options but if there are then this needs to be more visible. Otherwise, they’ve done a very good job; it’s very friendly, interesting and modern looking.

Has the economic crises affected your business? Is so, how?

It did but not in the way that most businesses were affected. We have been receiving new projects but the difficulty we are facing is that we have issues getting paid for the previous services provided because, usually, businesses pay in installments.

Why do you think your alumni story is unique?  

I think that most people just follow their life path – their social circle makes them go to university and they choose subjects that are based on the income they will receive rather than their actual interest in the subject.

In my case, I knew exactly what I wanted and how to get there – which is how I ended up on the doorstep of the University of Nicosia. Basically, I had a vision and a motive and this equipped me for the real world and led me to establish my own business so quickly, without any capital or help! Don’t fool yourself into thinking it was easy – I worked 24 hours non-stop in order to pay off debts. I was lucky to have found a niche market and worked hard to get to where I am today.