SINGAPORE - March 13, 2002 - Singapore's most IT-savvy young students will be battling it out for a top prize of $3,000 in a new competition to test what they know about networks. The competition is launched by Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. As well as cash, the teams of two students can also win handheld computers and books, in the first competition of its kind in Singapore.
The "Networking Challenge" is organised by Cisco Systems under the auspices of the Cisco Networking Academy Program, and supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). It is open to all students from secondary schools, junior colleges and international schools, and involves two qualifying rounds and a final, where the best eight teams will have their knowledge of networks tested to the limit to sort out the ultimate winners.
"Our main aim is to boost students' networking knowledge," said Bill Chang, Regional Managing Director for Asean of Cisco Systems. "However, the competition will also help identify young IT talents, whose abilities can be further developed through the Cisco Networking Academy Program. The networking industry has a key role to play in the future of Singapore and other countries, and we need to ensure that we find the best people and train them to work in this fast-growing sector."
According to Dr Kaizad Heerjee, Assistance Chief Executive for the Online Development Group at the IDA, the competition supports the government's efforts to nurture manpower for Singapore's infocomm industry. "The idea of using competition to identify promising talent for the networking field is an innovative and refreshing one," said Dr Heerjee. "Because students in Singapore are known to be generally tech-savvy, exposing the budding talents to the courses offered by the Cisco Networking Academy Program may help to inspire the next generation of network professionals in Singapore."
Students can register for the competition directly via the website at: http://www.cisco.com/sg/networkingchallenge, and must complete their entries before April 30, 2002. Each team should consist of two students from the same school, and the first round will see the teams divided into 4 zones, each hosted by one polytechnic. The first round of the competition involves an online quiz, with all the questions based on the Cisco Networking Academy Program curriculum, covering subjects including: OSI model industry standards, network topologies, IP addressing, networking components and basic network design.
Round 2 will involve a hands-on lab test, when the Top 20 teams in each of the 4 zones will be asked to design, configure and set up a real-life network.
The Finals will be held on July 20, when the Top 8 teams will face an even tougher test, covering the following topics:
7 Advanced router configurations
7 LAN switching theory and VLANs
7 Advanced LAN & LAN switched design
7 Novell IPX
7 Threaded case studies
7 WAN theory & design
7 WAN technology, PPP, Frame Relay, ISDN
7 Network troubleshooting
All the tests will be held at the four Regional Cisco Networking Academies - Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic - and the Cisco Academy Training Center at Nanyang Technological University.
Corporate Sponsors
American Power Conversion (APC), Fluke Networks, National Computer Systems (NCS), Pearson Education Asia and Prometric-Thomson Learning are also supporting the Networking Challenge with generous sponsorship of prizes, equipment and other services for the competition
About the Cisco Networking Academy Program
The Cisco Networking Academy Program teaches students Internet technology skills and is a partnership between Cisco Systems, education, business, government and community organizations around the world. The curriculum focuses on teaching students to design, build, and maintain computer networks, and is designed to prepare students for the 21st Century workplace, while serving as a model for e-learning.
The first Networking Academy was established in the US in October, 1997, and the Cisco Networking Academy Program was launched in the Asia Pacific in September, 1998. Today, there are more than 8,700 Academies operating in 136 countries, with over 254,000 students enrolled.
About the Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com. Asia Pacific news and information are available at www.cisco.com/asiapac/news.
