In the third talk of the Black STEMM Futures series, Dr Eric Numkam-Fokoua, discusses his career pathway in engineering, from growing up in Cameroon, gaining scholarships to study at Nankai University, China, St Andrews University, UK and Ghent, Belgium and working at the University of Southampton as a Research Fellow in the field of photonics and fibre optics. He also discusses the science of fibre optics and their uses, in particular making high-speed internet possible.