At 14, he’s ready for network hazards

A resident of Dombivili, Anand’s curriculum vitae dwarfs his small frame. From being the youngest in the world to earn a diploma in field engineering when he was just 11 years old, Anand galloped through various computer courses in several institutes to become the youngest CISCO-certified networking professional.

This means he can design and execute computer networking in setups as small as cyber-cafes or as big as multi-crore firms, a far call from the days of application-oriented syllabi in his learning days.

‘‘I took the CISCO Pix Firewall Advanced course but I did not attempt the exam because I found it extremely boring,’’ says Anand, a sheepish grin playing on his face.

Gauging his son’s talent, Anand’s father Prakash suggested that Anand sign up for computer courses after his Std V final examinations. ‘‘He was asked to take a screening test, and he simply sailed through it,’’ recalls Anand’s proud father.

There’s been no looking back since. After clearing the first hardware course in CMS, he joined Karrox. Alas, the ‘‘boring’’ world of textbooks and unit tests tried the boy’s patience. Besides, as the computer juggernaut gathered momentum, Anand found it impossible to juggle academia and computer courses. So he dropped out of school.

Soon, his reputation in the profession grew and he hit another milestone: During this year’s international conference on information technology held at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber, Anand was the youngest participant in the organisation’s 150-year history.

‘‘I now plan to get a Bachelor of Science from the Management Development Institute of Singapore,’’ says the teenager, excitedly. Later, he aims to qualify for the Internetwork Expert course. ‘‘Only 500 professionals across the globe have qualified. I want to be No 501,’’ he smiles.