Pragati Walia

Over the past few decades, technology has advanced across the world rapidly. Nowadays, almost everyone strongly relies on social media, gaming systems, websites and other networks. Since we spend a majority of our time online, cybersecurity has proved to be invaluable. Cyber security is a field in the industry that focuses on protecting networks, systems and databases from theft, hacks, damages, etc. With respect to cybersecurity, a Digital Trust Consultant is an individual who assists organizations or companies in choosing a digital security strategy for themselves. The digital trust consultant is, in a way, the guarantor of the digital transformation of these clients. It contributes to digital compliance to generate and maintain user trust.

Listed below is the scripted interview among members of the Consilium team and Ms. Pragati Walia, a digital trust consultant, who had spoken about her career and education.

We highly appreciate Ms. Walia for taking out time from her busy schedule to do this interview and answer the following questions. Her insight and advice are of great value to us and made a great impact on us.

1. With respect to education, what did you have to do to reach where you are?
Ms. Walia graduated from the Dubai International Academy in 2015. After which, she studied at the prestigious George Washington University in Washington DC, earning her Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems and International Business. While studying there, Ms. Walia also earned a graduate certificate in Cyber Security Management. During when she was studying to earn her degree, Ms. Walia completed several internships, along which she learned that she was interested in Cyber Security and the Deed of Privacy.

2. Since subject choices are one of our most important decisions to make as high school students, what subjects did you take when you were at our stage of education?
Ms. Walia’s Higher Level (HL) subjects were Economics, Computer Science and Chemistry and her Standard Level (SL) subjects were English, French and Math. Since Ms. Walia was strongly interested in computer science, and knew she wanted to develop a career path in that field, she chose computer science. Staying true to her interests, Ms. Walia chose Chemistry and Economics.


3. Could you describe your profession briefly to us?
Ms. Walia informed us that she is a Digital Trust Consultant at PWC (Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand) in Dubai. Her work primarily surrounds offering clients, solutions in Cyber Security which is basically ensuring that all of the client’s and customer’s data is secure in terms of clause, regulation, and IT security. She also guarantees that all of those controls are in place according to standards that are published by governments all around the world.



4. If you could summarize your profession into 4 words, what would they be?
Secure, Communications and the Safety of Data.

5. What qualifications do you look for in a new hire to your business?
Ms. Walia mentioned that she is currently studying for a Cyber Security certification, on a professional front, called the CISSP. She suggests that employees in this field study can complete the certification as well.

6. Could you recommend some subjects that students in high school need to take in order to get into this career path?
Computer Science is crucial, says Ms. Walia, to help learn all the necessary information as well as several coding languages. Business and Economics are also recommended by Ms. Walia, as it aids one’s path through university, and helps keep you updated on global events. Looking back, Ms. Walia agrees that her subject choices were the right selection.

7. Personally, what parts of your job do you find the most challenging?
Ms. Walia explains that her work is a balance of challenges and fun. According to her, most of her clients are either government-based or large multinational corporations. Working with large companies to ensure that their information is secured and to identify the right systems, poses certain challenges along the way. However, Ms. Walia sheds light on how enjoyable it is to work with her team, collaboratively, months on end, to help the customer. The final result is proven successful and worth it when the client is satisfied.

8. What does a typical work week look like for you?
According to Ms. Walia, a typical week would be around 3 days a week at her client’s site, before COVID of course, prior to the lockdown and restrictions. She spends approximately 30 hours a week at the client’s site and the rest of the time, approximately 10 hours, would be in the office or working from home. Since her company is flexible, in this aspect, when there are no client meetings, employees are given the option to work from home.

9. Why did you choose this particular career for yourself?
While working as an intern in Washington DC, Ms. Walia learned that she wanted to have a career in IT, however, she did not want to work in website development. During her internship at Ernst & Young in Washington DC, in her junior year of university, Ms. Walia worked on a project where she had to complete a Cyber Security data privacy audit which entails checking if all of the systems are correct, laws are followed, and controls are in place. Ms. Walia explains that she fell in love with the subject as she found it so intriguing. She thought that the subject was completely new and was not known by many people. Ms. Walia continues by saying that there is so much to learn about.

10. Since it is a new career path, could you describe the portfolio of the clients that you usually get?
As Ms. Walia mentioned before, her clients can be from any field or line of service. She has worked with government clients, banks around the UAE, educational institutions, etc. Today, since data ubiquitous, hacking poses as the major threat. Therefore, it is important for any organization to have secure principles in place to protect their data.

11. What do you love most about your job?
Ms. Walia elucidates the best part about her job is learning something new all the time. Every client is different because they operate in various ways. She likes working with a variety of clients, as well as working closely with her team to learn about the client and discussing their opinions on the task at hand.

12. Have you worked in any country other than Dubai? If yes, how is UAE different from that?
Ms. Walia worked in Washington for shorter periods since she was doing internships, however, her longest job was at Ernst & Young in Washington DC in a similar environment. Ms. Walia thinks that since, UAE is a developing market, one has the opportunity to learn more. As a part of her job in Dubai, Ms. Walia is a part of a small team where they all work on the same project at the same time allowing them to communicate more and build a relationship. Whereas, in developed markets like Canada or America or the UK, the teams are much bigger, meaning that it is harder to reach out to the managers and partners, especially since they are busier, explains Ms. Walia. She also highlights how working in that environment has its perks too, as a developed country already has all of these systems in place. In Dubai, all the work happens in a developed start-up where you have the benefits of working in an environment where you are always learning. It has its drawbacks too, as everything is not standardized, so you could run into challenges and cultural differences as well.

13. As outsiders, we know the basics of Digital Trust being vital. As an insider, could you give us an insight on why it is so important?
Ms. Walia explains that we are a part of this ever-evolving digital age where we are only going to become more reliant on technology, specifically on our computers and phones. In her firm and among her team, everyone knows how important that is and they work to ensure that their clients are aware of it too. She feels that people, of our age specifically, understand the importance of IT and technology because our lives have always relied on them. She believes that one must know how important it is to protect ourselves from all of the malicious online attacks, such as hacking.

14. There are Digital Trust Consultants who work as freelancers and who work as part of companies such as yourself. What is the difference between the 2?
Personally, Ms. Walia does not think there is much of a difference between them. Digital Trust in itself is a really big realm that consists of IT, business protection and Cyber Security and Data Privacy. Ms. Walia thinks that working with a bigger company gives you a foundation and more experience. Once you have that foundation, one can work as a freelancer. At the end of the day, the goal is to be able to protect the IT systems as well as provide assurance to clients that their data is safe.







15. Is there any advice you’d have to give to viewers of our age group?
“Definitely, I remember when I was in high school and went to DIA, so I know how stressful it gets in year 12 and 13 or the months leading up to 12 and 13. I’d just say work hard, plan your subjects carefully and there’s no rush to figure out what you want to do in life. People are always changing professions and there are new professions coming up constantly. So, find what you’re really and truly interested in doing and your career path will sort itself out because if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, you won’t be successful. You have to find those subjects that you’re interested in and find the hobbies that you’re interested in and remember that having hobbies is a very important part of your life so just doing your 6 subjects and the TOK, CAS and all is important and good for university but have that little things like I had dance and horse riding. I sort of let them go in Year 12 and 13 because I got so overwhelmed with work and studying but try holding on to that especially once you go to university and you’re making new friends, it’s going to be a great experience so try to holistically create a new version of yourself once you graduate.”


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