Student Spotlight: Sumiran Jaiswal Balances Technical Mastery with Mentoring 735 Terps

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For Sumiran Jaiswal, who will graduate this May with a Master of Engineering in Software Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Engineering in Cloud Engineering, Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering (MAGE) was the ideal bridge between academic theory and industry practice. Drawn to MAGE’s reputation for having industry-active faculty, Sumiran strategically stacked his degrees to build skills in both application development and the cloud infrastructure that supports it. This dual focus has prepared him for his long-term goal of becoming a versatile cloud architect capable of designing resilient, end-to-end systems. "Modern software engineering requires a deep understanding of the infrastructure it runs on," Sumiran notes, highlighting how the MAGE curriculum allowed him to bridge the gap between high-level code and the complex environments where it lives.

Sumiran’s academic journey was marked by a deep commitment to security and mentorship. Serving as a teaching assistant for ENPM 665 (Cloud Security) under Instructor Thomas Dineen and a grader for ENPM 680 (Secure Coding) under Instructor Gananand Ganesh Kini, he evolved his technical mindset from simply "making things work" to "making things secure by design." These roles allowed him to work closely with faculty experts and reinforced his belief that security must be a foundational layer of any project rather than an afterthought. Through mentoring his peers and evaluating complex code, he also honed the communication skills necessary to translate intricate technical concepts into accessible language—a vital trait for any engineering leader.

Beyond the classroom, Sumiran has become a prominent leader within the University of Maryland’s tech ecosystem, leading by example and bringing his fellow Terps along for the ride. As the Co-Lead of the Google Developer Student Club (GDSC), he has mentored over 700 members and fostered a collaborative space for exploring emerging frontiers like Generative AI. His competitive track record is equally remarkable: he led team CAMcogni to a first-place victory at Georgia Tech’s Hacklytics 2025 and secured the "Best Digital Forensic Hack" at Bitcamp 2026 with team QuanTerp. Both of these winning teams were composed of fellow MAGE students. Sumiran also recently secured a win with team Testudo Tours at the University’s Big Think AI x World Labs hackathon. Sumiran credits his MAGE coursework—specifically ENPM 613, 680, and 818R—with giving him a "competitive edge" in these high-stakes environments. By mastering the ability to rapidly provision secure cloud environments and deploy containerized applications, his teams were able to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure hurdles.

As he prepares to be recognized by the University of Maryland Computer Science Department for his work in organizing successful Hackathons, including the University of Maryland’s Gemini Hack Night, Sumiran is ready to bring his expertise to a full-time role as a Cloud or Software Engineer. His recent internship with John Consulting served as a final validation of his readiness, as he found the agile workflows and collaborative problem-solving at MAGE perfectly mirrored the professional world. For incoming students, Sumiran’s advice is simple: "Step outside the classroom and build things that break." By actively contributing to the community and applying classroom concepts in high-stakes environments, Sumiran believes every MAGE student can maximize their graduate experience and leave a lasting impact on the Terp community.

Published April 30, 2026