BEIJING, June 07, 2004 - A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation with 35 Model Software Colleges was signed today between Cisco Systems® and China's Ministry of Education. Under the MOU, Cisco® will provide the 35 national Model Software Colleges --that recognized by the ministry-- with its widely recognized Cisco Networking Academy® Program, including all the electronic courses, supplementary teaching materials, program support, professional certifications and instructor training, which will add up to a total value of US$37.7 million, with each software college hosting an estimated 200 students within the effective period of the MOU.
Ms. Wu Qidi, deputy minister of the Ministry of Education stated at the signing ceremony: "As the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, Cisco's innovative Internet courses have proven to deliver a rich, interactive and personalized curriculum to students around the world. Under the MOU, Cisco is making an important contribution to the development of the software institutions and IT education in China."
China's Ministry of Education and State Development Planning Commission initiated the Model Software College project in 2001 with the joint approval of 35 experimental software colleges, aiming to meet the urgent demand for China's developing software industry as well as to cultivate internationally competitive professionals in both networking and software technologies.
"Cisco believes the Internet and education are the two main influencers of future economic and social development," says Mr. JiaBin Duh, vice president of Cisco Systems and president of Cisco China. "As a company that focuses on providing equipment and solutions for the Internet, Cisco has successfully used the Internet to promote e-learning and training of networking technology. We are pleased with this opportunity to share our expertise with the Ministry and to continue our contributions to China's educational advancement."
Mr. Zhang Daliang, Vice Principle of Nanjing University, added, "Nanjiang University is one of the institutions that have already begun testing the Cisco curriculum. Our students enjoyed the courses, which are notably effective and easy-to-learn. Signing of this MOU will provide more students with a privileged opportunity to grasp the world-class Internet training programs."
About Cisco Networking Academy
Cisco Networking Academy courses use Web-based teaching materials, which are taught by instructors who are certified by Cisco, and which offer the online capabilities of teaching assessment, grade tracking, testing, teacher training, and support. Students who have taken the courses will be qualified to take the industry-standard certification exams. Through relationships with leading information technology (IT) manufacturers, such as Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard (HP), Adobe Systems, and Panduit, Cisco has been able to extend its Networking Academy curriculum from a single course to an IT training system. With a total of 15 courses covering a full range of topics, the training system allows students to learn fundamental to advanced networking concepts, cabling, and complicated subjects such as rules and strategies of subnet masks.
Approximately 10,000 Networking Academy sites operate in all 50 of the United States and in 150 countries around the worldwide. More than 400,000 students from high schools, universities, colleges, technical schools, organizations and other training groups take the courses globally. As of April 2004, the number of Cisco Networking Academy sites has reached 198 in China, with 17,370 students enrolled, 20,520 graduated, and 15 courses offered with 1,050 hours of electronic course materials.
