KIEV, Ukraine – September16, 2013 – Cisco today announced that in the framework of Cisco Networking Academy™, free education has been offered for Ukrainian orphans, children from low-income families and children with special requirements.
This fall, Cisco academies start working at Nadezhda education and rehabilitation center in Simferopol, at Father's Home international charity fund (Petrovskoye village in the Kiev region), at Zaporozhye boarding school 7, and at Berdyansk boarding school. All students of the above schools will be trained free of charge. In addition, Cisco started cooperating with All-Ukrainian Association – My Family, which enables the opening of four more Cisco academies at boarding schools in Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk regions. Moreover, fostered children from member-families of the association will also be educated free of charge.
Cisco Networking Academy at a boarding school for orphans (the first school of this kind, not only in Ukraine but also in CIS, Central and Eastern Europe) was opened in January 2008 in the town of Bucha (Kiev region). In 2011, another academy was opened at a sanatorium boarding school in the town of Volodarka (Kiev region). Both academies offer IT Essentials courses. In addition, Cisco Networking Academy in Bucha offers the CCNA® Discovery course.
Supporting Quote:
Oleg Bodnar, country manager, Cisco Ukraine:
"We try to pay special attention to various initiatives supporting IT education in Ukraine as it is vitally important for further development of our country. Continuous growth of demand for specialists in information and communications technologies (ICT) makes children with special educational requirements confident in their future. Cisco Networking Academies in the Kiev region trained about 200 orphan students and children from low-income families. Graduates of the academies get jobs as soon as they reach the legal age. Training at Cisco Networking Academies offers an excellent ticket to adult life for children with special educational requirements, because the training methods in the academies support the so-called inclusive education. It helps to integrate special children in human society by training them on equal terms with other students.”
Support of the Open World National Project Aimed at Modernizing the Education System in Ukraine
In order to provide further support to IT education in Ukraine, Cisco has taken part in the Open World national project aimed at building a nationwide educational information and communications network. By the end of 2013, the project will supply 2,000 Ukrainian schools with advanced digital equipment. By the end of 2015, all schools in Ukraine will get such equipment. Fifty-four schools in different regions of Ukraine have already obtained tablets and netbooks (for schoolchildren); PCs (for teachers); digital labs for chemistry, biology and physics classes; and multimedia interactive sets and network assets. Today more than 3,200 schoolchildren of grade seven use the new equipment in their studies.
At phase one, Cisco supplied the schools with network equipment that is required for Internet connectivity, including wireless and Wi-Fi hot spots. These assets provide schoolchildren with high-speed network access to educational content from any compatible device, such as a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone.
The Open World national project is carried out under the auspices of the president of Ukraine by the State Agency on Investments and National Project Management. The Open World is all about modernization of the Ukrainian education system, preparation of highly skilled technologically mature specialists, and making Ukraine more competitive in the world market. The main mission of the project is to eliminate inequality in the educational area and to provide each Ukrainian child with high-quality education services. The Open World includes setting up a unified national educational and informational environment, which has already been developed and is currently being tested.
Supporting Quote:
Alexander Chemerys, AM, Cisco Ukraine:
"Projects of the same scope as the Open World require fundamental government support because they are implemented for common good. Investment in school education is the most efficient strategy for any government which plans national development for a hundred years ahead. Such investments are paid back through better "human capital" capable of promoting the country from industrial economy to economy of knowledge. Cisco's main mission in this project is not only to supply schools with hardware, but also to share international experience of implementing such projects and promote practice-proven methods of using IT in education and training."
Tags, Keywords: Ukraine, Cisco, Cisco Academy, CCNA course, Open World national project
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About Cisco Networking Academy
The Networking Academy began in 1997 with 64 schools and has grown to become one of the "world's largest classrooms" with 10,000 academies in 165 countries, and more than 4 million students having participated in the program since its inception.
A pioneering example of cloud-based education delivery, the Networking Academy teaches students how to design, build, troubleshoot and secure computer networks for increased access to career and economic opportunities in communities around the world. Students who complete the program often go on to secure entry-level career opportunities, participate in continuing education and achieve globally recognized career certifications.
Networking Academy courses are delivered in multiple languages through a cloud-based learning system. Courses are supported by classroom instruction, hands-on learning activities, and interactive online assessments that provide personalized feedback. Networking Academy instructors receive extensive training and support to help ensure a consistently-enriching learning experience for students around the world.
About Cisco
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