Leonardo DaVinci may be best known for painting the Mona Lisa, but he was also a technological visionary, conceiving flying machines centuries before their realization.
As far as we know, he never envisaged our current reality of modern app security and delivery. However, DaVinci’s adage, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do,” is still as relevant today as it was in his day.
In a complex landscape of hybrid environments, multicloud architectures, and AI, practical expertise is crucial. The F5 Academy at AppWorld 2025 offers the indispensable opportunity to master these technologies, supercharging participants’ skills and career.
F5 Academy at AppWorld
AppWorld 2025—Las Vegas, February 25-27— provides the opportunity to gain practical insights from F5's business and technical leaders on enterprise AI applications, performance optimization, and security resilience. This direct engagement offers invaluable career advancement opportunities, especially as AI security and application delivery expertise become increasingly critical.
Within AppWorld, visitors will find the F5 Academy, a place for technical deep dives that can alter the trajectory of their career.
““Some register for the F5 Academy to learn how to do one specific thing, but when they start talking with others, they see other ways of using the technology and suddenly it widens the possibilities.” —Kris Fouts, Sr. Global Events Manager, F5”
The F5 Academy takes participants through a three-pillared approach combining deep technical knowledge, practical experience, and professional certification. This year's program features an impressive lineup of 14 technical briefings and 26 hands-on labs, creating a vigorous learning environment some have described as rapidly acquiring a year’s worth of knowledge.
Kris Fouts, organizer of the F5 Academy, says she sees unexpected “aha” moments happen each year. “Some register to learn how to do one specific thing, but when they start talking with others, they see other ways of using the technology and suddenly it widens the possibilities.”
Here is a preview of what to expect at this year’s F5 Academy:
- Deep-dive technical briefings: The hour-long technical briefings serve as intensive deep dives into specific technologies and solutions. These sessions go beyond surface-level understanding, providing insights that extract maximum value from F5 technologies. What sets these briefings apart is their practical focus—techniques and strategies that can be implemented immediately upon return to work.
- Hands-on labs where theory meets the real world: Hands-on labs are the core of the F5 Academy. In these two-hour sessions, participants will work directly with F5 technologies, guided by experts, in real-world simulations. They’ll develop practical skills in a supported environment and earn digital badges—tangible proof of their growing expertise that can be showcased to employers and peers.
- Career-advancing certifications: Perhaps the most compelling aspect of F5 Academy is the opportunity to earn highly respected and industry-recognized certifications at no additional cost. These certification exams, typically priced between $50-180, are offered free to AppWorld attendees. But the real value lies in what these certifications represent. Unlike many industry certifications that merely test theoretical knowledge, F5 certifications are renowned for a rigorous, hands-on approach to assessment.
The career impact of an F5 certification
F5 Certified exams are developed to deliver consistently reproducible results that guarantee excellence in those who achieve certification. “Truly we are there to test your knowledge, skills and ability,” says F5 Certification Program Manager Heidi Schreifels.
““This is not testing anyone on the ability to take an exam. It’s testing you on your ability to use the technology. That makes this certification so meaningful.” —Heidi Schreifels, Certification Program Manager, F5”
F5 certification can be a career differentiator and a competitive advantage for both individuals and organizations.
“I wouldn't be where I am today without the knowledge and experience gained through my pursuit of F5 certifications,” says Richard Jones, who holds multiple F5 certifications. “Since F5 BIG-IP was, and still is, a leader in the space, having expertise in it positioned me to stay ahead of industry trends and advance my career.”
Yawo Kpelevi, who also holds numerous F5 certifications, has seen similar results. “The certifications help me in my career to get better positions and promotions,” he says. “The F5 certifications are structured in a way that not only are we learning about F5 technology but also learning about industry standards and both why and how things are supposed to work the way they do.”
Adam Ingle is another multi-certification holder. “I have received three promotions due to my certifications and hold my group’s current highest position,” he says, stating that the certification exams make him better at his day-to-day job. “Only then was I able to understand that while what I was doing was ‘working’ because the service was forgiving, it was creating technological debt that would have to be paid at some point. Correcting these mistakes streamlined operations and made the service much more resilient. We have not had an outage since utilizing such optimizations.”
Beyond all these benefits, there is also a community that F5 Academy members become a part of—with many returning, learning, and collaborating year after year.
Explore this year’s F5 Academy
If you’re thinking of attending AppWorld 2025, you can explore the complete lineup of F5 Academy offerings by solution area, including application delivery, enterprise AI security & delivery, web application & API protection, and zero trust. Or explore the labs agenda by F5 product including BIG-IP, Distributed Cloud Services and NGINX.
Register for AppWorld 2025 and F5 Academy, Las Vegas.
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