21285 - SCTE Broadband Dec2021 COMPLETE v1

10 Vol. 43 No. 4 - November 2021 Issue Broadband Journal caught up with our Ambassador-at-Large, Besim Latifi based in Kosovo to find out what is happening in the Balkans. scte balkans news Broadband: Great to talk to you again Besim. Tell us what’s happening. Besim: We have been so busy in our region. So many new engineers are coming to us now needing training and we are working with our new partner Next Gen Networks Institute in Kosovo to provide them with the essential theoretical training which is exactly what this area needs. Broadband: We are delighted to see you making such excellent progress! Besim: I know right? It’s early days but we are so pleased to have partnered with a local agency that knows the landscape so well. Next Gen’s CEO Shpresa Metaj is an absolute fountain of knowledge and it’s been a great experience to tailor our offering to the needs of her students, an offering which maximises their time and gets them match fit, ready to springboard into a long, satisfying career in telecoms. Broadband: Well done. Must be a good feeling. Besim: It really is very rewarding; one of the best aspects of being Ambassador-At-Large is seeing such happy outcomes, knowing these trainees have learned something worthwhile and valuable that they will take with them for their entire career. Broadband: What’s next for you? Besim: We are working with colleagues and potential partners in Croatia, Ukraine and even Indonesia, having initial conversations, taking our time to understand the local markets and what they need. Broadband: I can’t even imagine the technical and cultural differences between Jakarta and Zagreb… Besim: Well absolutely! These things take time, and to be honest working with Next Gen has taken up a lot of my focus of late. But we are over the worst of that and now I get to monitor the progress of the trainees. To that end I’m working closely with Shpresa to establish best practice and KPIs for the newly trained students. Broadband: Impressive. Presumably you will tweak the training programme using these metrics as you go along? Besim: Precisely. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and I take my responsibilities seriously. The quality of the programme in Kosovo will influence what we do in other territories so this first stage – it is crucial we get it right. Besim Latifi, SCTE ® Ambassador-At-Large SCTE ® Balkans Update from Ambassador-at-Large