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Engineering Training Recap: From Configuration to Certification

by Tom Lerpiniere

The recent Certified Platform Engineer Training in San Francisco was an energising and rewarding experience for both Kassandra and myself, along with the participants. Through the three days, attendees engaged well with the Sapio platform, while working through a range of real-world scenarios and hands-on configuration challenges.

From our perspective as trainers, the standout feature of this session was that of the level of collaboration and curiosity in the room. Participants came from a wide mix of scientific and technical backgrounds, yet quickly found common ground in exploring how Sapio can be tailored to their specific workflows. The discussions were positive, with great back-and-forwards to discuss how each client completed certain tasks based on their unique setups.

The energy stayed high throughout the week — with great discussions, shared problem-solving, and some friendly competition with completing the certification exam! It was fantastic to see so many “lightbulb moments” as attendees connected the training exercises to their own implementation goals.

Key Takeaways for Attendees

Attendees left with hands-on experience configuring the Sapio platform, from user administration to process design and instrument integration.
The sessions reinforced how to apply Sapio’s design principles for scalable, compliant, and maintainable deployments.
The “build-a-solution” exercises gave participants the chance to implement real-world configurations end-to-end — a highlight of the course.
The in-person format encouraged collaboration and discussion between different organizations, fostering a growing community of Sapio-certified professionals.
With both Essentials and Advanced exams completed, participants demonstrated the ability to design, configure, and troubleshoot effectively within the platform.

Reflections

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and in keeping with the trend of feedback we regularly receive for these sessions, with 96% rating their experience Excellent or Very Good and 100% agreeing the content was clear and relevant.

For us as trainers, this reinforced the value of interactive, example-driven learning — a format we’ll continue to build on in future sessions.

We’ve taken on board a few constructive suggestions too and have the aim of extending the advanced content further and refining some of the exam questions for clarity. A number of these insights were rolled into our London training in December, ensuring continuous improvement.

Overall, the San Francisco training truly showcased what’s possible when the Sapio community comes together to learn, collaborate, and innovate, and we look forward to our next training event. Check out our events calendar for updates.