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The spotlight is on Sergio Vatrano, Database Teacher, Instituto Leonardo Murialdo, Argentina.

The mission of Instituto Leonardo Murialdo in Buenos Aires is to provide “a solid human and Christian formation” in young people from elementary through secondary school. The 1,400 secondary students prepare for Bachelor’s degrees in information technology (IT), economics, natural sciences, and electronics, along with learning Christian values.

Sergio Vatrano, a graduate of the school, is one of more than 150 educators and auxiliary staff. He teaches classes to 70 IT students based on the Oracle Academy database curriculum. In addition to teaching, Vatrano is also a Big Data architect at a telecommunications company in Argentina, with a schedule that allows him to teach database at the institute.

Earlier in life, Vatrano served as a missionary in Argentina and other parts of Latin America. This work awoke his passion for teaching.

Oracle Academy: What parts of the curriculum do you teach?

Sergio Vatrano: My subject is database. I teach Oracle Academy’s Database Foundations and Database Design and Programming with SQL courses. We started in 2020 with Oracle APEX for hands-on practice in the cloud, with students accessing the courses online from any classroom. Once Oracle Academy offered the Cloud Free Tier in 2021, I automatically created environments for our class to work in the cloud. Everything I know about Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is thanks to Oracle Academy. The Oracle Academy Cloud Program gives students the opportunity to access real databases, to develop applications and to understand the cloud.

Oracle Academy: Can you tell us about your experience with Oracle Cloud?

Sergio Vatrano: Oracle Cloud has been fabulous. Oracle Academy enables me to manage cloud environments ― no other educational cloud platform does that.

What’s more, Oracle Cloud saved us during the pandemic; it was a godsend. I would say that without Oracle Academy, these students would not have learned anything in the 18 months in which we had no face-to-face contact. The platform meant they could connect from whatever was available ― their father’s cell phone, an aunt’s PC, with nothing to install.

Now that we’re back in class, it continues to be amazing. As a teacher it has been a game-changer. It’s been a great achievement, we have something we did not have before, tools that were lacking, and adapting was super easy. I am profoundly happy with Oracle Academy. These past few years have been a very pleasant experience.

Oracle Academy: How do you use the cloud?

Sergio Vatrano: We have spun up two instances of Oracle Autonomous Database on which the students are equally distributed. I have implemented different schemas for each student.

I work with 15 projects that they must develop and implement from scratch. There are three for eCommerce, two for fast food and restaurant simulation, some for languages, others for school administration ― booking of classrooms and labs, for example.

Each student accesses the projects through the APEX interface and works according to the learning paths I set up. APEX allows them to build scalable, secure enterprise apps, for hands-on practice in the cloud. Before Oracle Cloud, we couldn’t publish anything. Now the students can implement things and proudly say, “I did something; I made an app!” You can see it and use it.

Oracle Academy: Do you have plans to broaden the scope?

Sergio Vatrano: Yes, over the next year I would like them to be able to create virtual cloud networks. To do so they need to understand infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and networking. That’s my milestone, but to achieve it I need to get other colleagues on board, one who teaches hardware and the other, networking.

Oracle Academy: Do you use the Oracle Academy Member Hub?

Sergio Vatrano: Yes, the Member Hub is very useful. I use it to create channels for each course and each year, add learning paths, grade exercises and generally administer the courses. I also use the Member Hub to access Oracle learning resources, stay up to speed with the continuing professional development courses (CPD), and Workshops in a Box.

Oracle Academy: What are your hobbies?

Sergio Vatrano: Instituto Murialdo is my major interest, my contribution to building a better Argentina. Education is the key and teaching is my path to that goal.

I also work in a local parish carrying out social engagements to help people in need.

Apart from that, I enjoy cycling and spending maximum time with my wife and two sons.

Thank you, Sergio Vatrano, for your passion for Oracle Academy and for preparing your students to make a positive impact.