Tariq Khan’s relationship with technology began long before he entered the professional audiovisual industry. As a child, he was fascinated by electronics and often took apart more equipment than he could put back together. Over time, that curiosity became a skill.

By his teenage years, he was helping family and friends set up audio and video systems, working with his secondary school’s first student radio station and assisting musician friends with their gear.

At 19, he took a major step into the AV field by partnering with his uncle to open and manage a car audio and electronics store. As local dealers for U.S. brands such as Orion, Scosche, and Audiovox, they gained direct experience with product lines, customer needs, and installations.

That practical foundation later became essential when Tariq joined The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. At the time, AV adoption on campus was limited and nearly a decade behind institutions in the United States. With few resources, he helped establish the campus’ first teaching video conferencing system. Students embraced the technology, lecturers followed, and AV adoption continued to grow. Today, almost every teaching space at UWI includes integrated AV systems.

“My journey in AV has always been guided by curiosity, creativity, and making technology accessible,” says Tariq, who currently serves as Acting Manager, Digital & Technology Support Services.

Formalizing Decades of Experience

Before pursuing CTS, Tariq already had more than two decades of experience across AV, IT, project management, network design, event production, installations, and troubleshooting. Through his work at UWI and his company, AVANT Limited, he had trained teams, led technical projects and designed systems.

His appointment as Acting Manager of the audiovisual unit encouraged him to formalize that knowledge through a globally recognized certification. For Tariq, the CTS represented a way to validate his experience, align with global standards, and strengthen both his technical and leadership foundations.

“I pursued AVIXA training for career progression, access to global industry standards, technical and leadership growth, and to formalize decades of practical experience,” he explains. “The CTS was the perfect next step.”

Learning Through Structure and Standards

Tariq prepared for the CTS exam primarily through AVIXA’s CMS platform. He appreciated the combination of text, images, audio, video, self-paced modules, practice questions, and visual explanations. He also purchased the *CTS Certified Technology Specialist Exam Guide, Third Edition*, and made extensive notes throughout the process.

“The combination of AVIXA’s multimedia learning style and structured content made the preparation enjoyable and manageable,” he says.

Among all the topics covered, System Design stood out the most. It connected directly with his day-to-day responsibilities and helped strengthen his structured methodology for evaluating and implementing AV systems.

From Limited Resources to Campus-Wide AV Adoption

One of the greatest challenges in Tariq’s early career was access to information. Between 1995 and 1998, the internet was still young and reliable AV knowledge was not widely available in Trinidad and Tobago. He relied on magazines, brochures, and direct communication with manufacturers in the United States, which also helped him develop business communication skills early.

At UWI, the challenge was different: the campus was years behind in AV adoption. Building the first teaching video conferencing system with minimal equipment required innovation, patience and persistence. Once students embraced the technology, adoption accelerated and opened the door to broader AV integration across the university.

The CTS later gave Tariq a more standardized framework to support that evolution. It sharpened his understanding of industry standards, increased his confidence in system design, improved his communication with vendors and contractors, and strengthened his project oversight and documentation.

“It has noticeably elevated the quality of my work,” he says.

Applying CTS Knowledge to Strategic Decisions

One recent project where Tariq applied CTS principles involved evaluating the university’s AV rental expenditure, which was close to TT$1 million annually. He developed a strategy to reduce reliance on external vendors by proposing a hybrid ownership model.

Under this model, UWI would acquire equipment to support small and medium events internally, while continuing to rent specialized equipment only for large-scale events. With a capital investment of approximately TT$1 million, the university expects to save TT$2.5 million over five years.

Beyond cost savings, the model improves scheduling flexibility and builds long-term technical capacity within the institution. The university approved the recommendations, and implementation is now underway.

“CTS principles guided system requirements calculations, equipment selection, and alignment with standards and best practices,” Tariq explains. “Applying AVIXA standards provided clarity and consistency in decision-making and validated the final design choices.”

A Certification that Opens Doors

For Tariq, the value of CTS goes beyond technical knowledge. It has strengthened his decision-making, improved the reliability of his designs and given him a clearer framework for managing projects and communicating with stakeholders.

His advice to those considering the certification is straightforward: sign up for the self-study courses on AVIXA.org, go through the material carefully, take notes, complete the quizzes, revise, and take the practice exam.

“Stay relaxed and trust the process,” he says.

He describes the exam experience as professional, comfortable, and fair. While time management was important, he felt AVIXA’s preparation materials aligned well with the exam.

The Next Step

Tariq is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Strategic Leadership and Innovation and plans to complete the CTS-D afterwards. His goal is to continue elevating AV standards at UWI while expanding his strategic leadership in digital transformation.

For other AV professionals, his message is clear: do not wait.

“Do not be afraid, and do not delay. Now is the best time to certify,” he says. “The AVIXA CTS opens doors, strengthens customer service skills, deepens technical knowledge and gives you the confidence to operate at global standards.”

Learn more about the CTS here.