SINGAPORE - August 20, 2002 - When it comes to knowing their networks, Ng Junyang and Sim Yan Chuan of The Chinese High School, are Singapore's most switched-on students. Last Saturday, the two 16-year-olds emerged as the winners of the "Networking Challenge" competition to test students' networking skills, organised by Cisco Systems - and walked away with the top prize of S$3,000, handheld computers and Cisco Aironet wireless LAN products.
The runners-up were Supathus Chaimunangrai and Gwee Xue Qian of Temasek Secondary School, followed by Lee Yao Ting and Zheng Junyi of Hwa Chong Junior College.
According to one of the judges, Steven Chew, Senior Lecturer of School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering of the Singapore Polytechnic, the students did very well and were able to solve the real-life networking problems presented to them. "The standard of networking knowledge displayed by the students is very high. They not only have an excellent grasp of the networking theory, they also know how to translate theory into practice. From what we have seen, they are well prepared to go on to the next stage of their studies and even pursue careers in networking in the future."
The Networking Challenge was organised by Cisco Systems under the auspices of the Cisco Networking Academy Program, and supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). The corporate sponsors included American Power Conversion (APC), Fluke Networks, National Computer Systems (NCS), Pearson Education Asia and Prometric-Thomson Learning.
"The Cisco Networking Academy Program was designed to help develop networking resources to meet future demand of skilled IT professionals. We have introduced the program to the secondary schools and colleges, with the aim of increasing awareness of computer networking, uncover hidden talents and also to help our young generation decide whether they have the interest and talent to pursue computer networking in their future careers," said James Chia, Cisco Systems Managing Director for Singapore.
The Cisco Networking Challenge was open to all students from local secondary schools, junior colleges and international schools.
The first round was an online quiz, covering subjects like OSI model industry standards, network topologies, IP addressing, networking components and basic network design. Round 2 involved a hands-on lab test, when the teams were asked to design, configure and set up a real-life network.
The Final was 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
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 9,700 Academies operating in 144 countries, with over 264,000 students enrolled.
About 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.
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Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
