Ernesto Riestra Martinez, Class 01
Current place of residence: Mexico
Currently working as: Co-founder and Innovation Officer at Yeira Inc.
Where are you currently working and what is the biggest issue that you are facing at work or what is currently keeping you busy there?
I dedicate myself to the topic of Software as a Service, in the EdTech field. I am co-founder and lead developer of novel e-learning solutions at Yeira Inc. Currently I am fully dedicated to the field of learning analytics, and I am in charge of rolling our analytics suite into different accounts and use cases.
Biggest challenge now? To raise the awareness of the value that learning analytics can provide to learning processes, not only in e-learning or distance scenarios, but specially in blended or edtech enabled classrooms and face to face learning.
Has there been a professional challenge since you were a student for which your studies or experiences at the NIT have prepared you for perfectly?
A lot of our technology capabilities today had to be clearly outlined and disentangled from previous service agreements. Learning about intellectual property management and making sure source code and innovation products are adequately protected helped us launch our SaaS offer, while reducing the risk of receiving third party claims on our solutions. Today, if a client asks for custom development we only go ahead if the IP can be kept inside our solutions.
What has happened in your private life in the meantime?
I am married and have two children, Ian (11) who is leaning towards music and piano and Avril (5) who seems to want to become the artist / painter of the family. And we have 3 cats too!!
What is your most precious / special / remarkable memory from your time studying at the NIT?
I used to go skating all around the campus and Harburg with a group of friends, and of course we didn't care too much about bringing food or even water. On one of those days we ventured pretty far for a couple of hours and on our way back we were completely depleted of energy, starving and thirsty. At the top of a very steep street and with our last possible breath we found a fruit store. Those must have been the best two oranges that I have had in my lifetime!
How to keep in touch with me:
Via LinkedIn.
Photo below: I couldn't find a photo back in 1999-2001, but I got this one of the 10th anniversary of NIT....
Photo above: ...and the latest one eating a muffin in the park.
