Cisco
Academy Training Centre established at LAU
Posted: 19 April 2004
Cisco Systems announced the Lebanese American University has been
appointed the first Cisco Academy Training Centre (CATC) in the
Middle East.
The LAU will now provide a central hub for Networking Academy instructors
to increase their abilities to teach the Networking Academy curriculum
to students across the region. The CATC will serve as the main training
and support centre for the region’s Cisco Networking Academy
program, further enhancing Cisco’s efforts to reduce the IT
skills gap and advance social and economic development in the region.
The LAU, Chartered in the State of New York, is a multi-campus,
career-orientated university whose objective is to serve the educational
needs of Lebanon and the Middle East by ensuring that a steady flow
of qualified, competitively trained IT professionals are ready to
enter the workforce on an ongoing basis. Since its founding in 1924
the LAU has since opened three campuses and teaches students from
sixty five different nationalities.
“We are proud to have always had a highly collaborative partnership
with Cisco and also to be the first Cisco Academy Training Centre
in the Middle East supporting the company’s operations in
the region,” said Dr. Riyad Nassar, President of LAU. He concluded
by saying: “With Cisco’s support we hope to continue
delivering on our promise of broadening educational opportunities
and providing increased exposure to technical career paths and vocational
opportunities in the Middle East.”
The Cisco Networking Academy program is a public, private partnership
between Cisco, governments, educational institutions, NGOs and industry
that delivers a rich, interactive, and personalized curriculum to
students around the world. The curriculum, supplemented with practical
hands-on laboratory exercises, gives students the opportunity to
put their newly learned skills to use immediately, and also aids
in the development of problem-solving skills and creative thinking.
The CATC trains and supports Networking Academy instructors and
is also responsible for the quality of training conducted at its
centre and the subsequent instructional qualities of the Networking
Academy’s instructors. Along with Cisco, CATCs set the standard
of quality for the entire Networking Academy program system with
regular on-line reporting, assessing information from support visits,
observations, academy report cards, regional instructor course satisfaction
and assessment results, and local student results.
“A Cisco Networking Academy since 2001, the Lebanese American
University has been selected as a CATC because of their ability,
qualifications, willingness to support the region’s academies,
and strict compliance to Cisco’s quality assurance measures,”
said Jacek Murawski, Director Public Funding and Cisco Networking
Academy program, Cisco Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Their
dedication to the Academy Program over the years is clearly demonstrated
by their compelling track record and a wide acceptance by other
Networking Academies from across the Arab world. We are fully committed
to the Middle East and see this as a major milestone in driving
forward the region’s human resources to increased participation
and employment in the global economy.”
The courses deliver web-based content, online assessment, student
performance tracking, hands-on labs, instructor training and support,
and preparation for industry standard certifications. The curriculum
has been developed by Cisco Systems through its worldwide experience
of IT needs and continues to raise the bar on e-learning and educational
processes to over 10,000 academies in 154 countries worldwide. To
date over 450,000 students are currently participating in academies
operating in high schools, colleges and universities around the
world.
About the Lebanese American University
The Lebanese American University (LAU), Chartered in the State
of New York, is a multi-campus career-orientated institution which
prepares students for responsible living, fully aware of the rich
heritage and multiple needs of their respective communities. With
three campuses in Beirut, Byblos and Sidon, the university is at
the crossroads of many interacting educational systems.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc is the worldwide leader in networking for the
Internet. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems
International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.
For more information see Cisco http://www.cisco.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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