{"id":31012,"date":"2026-04-22T12:42:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T04:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=media-release&p=31012"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:05:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:05:22","slug":"curtin-appoints-cisco-leader-to-foster-future-tech-talent","status":"publish","type":"media-release","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/media-release\/curtin-appoints-cisco-leader-to-foster-future-tech-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"Curtin appoints Cisco leader to foster future tech talent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Curtin University has appointed global tech industry leader Carl Solder as Adjunct Professor in a move designed to fast-track innovation and develop the next generation of tech talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Solder – the Chief Technology Officer of Cisco<\/a> Australia and New Zealand – brings a wealth of global expertise to Curtin following a 40-year career in Australia, New Zealand, the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States, including 19 years in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While employed in the US, Mr Solder worked within Cisco\u2019s core engineering teams, playing a pivotal role in the development of groundbreaking enterprise, data centre and cloud networking products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His work has been instrumental in shaping the digital infrastructure for many of the world\u2019s Fortune 500<\/a> companies, placing him at the forefront of the world\u2019s technology sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Curtin, Mr Solder will mentor students, deliver specialised seminars and provide students with unique insights into the practical application of networking technologies and the strategic leadership required to succeed in the global tech industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Solder said becoming an Adjunct Professor was not only a \u201cprofound honour\u201d but also a \u201cfull-circle moment\u201d, after completing his undergraduate degree at Curtin in 1984.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is an incredibly rewarding thought to be able to give back to the institution that provided the foundation for my career,\u201d Mr Solder said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI look forward to engaging with the next generation of technologists, sharing the lessons learned from the heart of Silicon Valley, and helping students navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of global technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Solder was appointed via the Curtin Institute for Data Science<\/a> to work with Innovation Central Perth<\/a> – an industry and research collaboration centre founded by Curtin and Cisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curtin Institute for Data Science Executive Director Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt<\/a> welcomed Mr Solder\u2019s appointment, adding it underscored Curtin and Cisco\u2019s ongoing commitment to fostering innovation and developing the next generation of tech leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are thrilled to welcome Carl back to the Curtin community,” Professor Johnston-Hollitt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“His career is a testament to the impact our graduates can have on the global stage. Having someone of Carl\u2019s calibre share his real-world experience and technical expertise will be an invaluable asset to our students as they prepare for their own careers in the technology sector.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curtin Computer Systems and Networking student Christian Badenhorst first met Mr Solder through an internship at ICP. He said the appointment would provide him with excellent real-life insight into the networking world he planned to go into once his studies were completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCarl is a very down-to-earth guy and easy to converse with, and along with his vast knowledge in his area of work, will make him an amazing professor,\u201d Mr Badenhorst said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curtin University has appointed global tech industry leader Carl Solder as Adjunct Professor in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4493,"featured_media":31013,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[306,228],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-31012","media-release","type-media-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community","tag-innovation","tag-students"],"acf":{"experts":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":[30634,24388]},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Carl_Solder_Lecturing_2025-1000x500.jpeg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Amanda","last_name":"Lewis","display_name":"270239i"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/31012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/media-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media-release\/31012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31012"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=31012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}