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Cisco Systems' worldwide education program is helping schools to prepare the future workforce for success in the 21st century. The company launched a new partnership called Cisco Networking Academy Program in October 1997. Through a partnership of schools, government, and industry, this program teaches high school and college students to design, build, and maintain computer networks.
The program attempts to provide a turnkey solution to schools. First, the program offers a four-semester, multimedia, Web-based curriculum that will continually evolve to include new concepts. Second, it provides a complete suite of lab equipment on which students can practice their skills, teacher training, and support for the curriculum and the equipment. Third, students who can demonstrate competence after completing the curriculum acquire a marketable certificate. Last, through this Web-based virtual community, academies can also share insights on all aspects of the program, including its strengths and weaknesses.
The Cisco Networking Academy Program does not simply drop technology into the classroom together with a short-term teacher training module; rather, they intend to provide virtually everything a school needs to effectively and economically teach students how to build and maintain networks. Students graduating from this program will be strong network administrators, designers, and troubleshooters because they will have substantial experience doing these jobs on real networks.
In April 1997, the curriculum was tested when students from Thurgood Marshall Academic High School in San Francisco were brought to the San Jose Convention Center. In less than a day, these students designed, installed, and configured a 70-node trade show network for the California Community College Foundation. This network, using the latest technologies, connected all trade show booths and conference rooms. The network operated flawlessly throughout the three days of the trade show.
The Cisco Networking Academy Program has already demonstrated benefits for all partners. Students enjoy the fun-to-use curriculum that provides job skills leading to gainful employment in information technology jobs. Student classroom time is divided between using the multimedia curriculum with its animations, pictures, examples, and exercises, and actually configuring and operating real network equipment in the lab. While the students are learning the skills essential to network administration, they are building reading, writing, and math skills through the required project and other assignments.
Teachers receive motivated students and knowledge critical to the information economy. Schools get a relevant new curriculum and, perhaps more importantly, people to help maintain their computer networks. Students, under proper supervision, are encouraged to learn about and help maintain the networks of not only their own school, but also of other schools in the area.
Industry is excited about the opportunity to hire certified graduates from the Cisco Networking Academy Program. Cisco will do what it can to hire them; the company will also do what it can to bring together hiring managers and program graduates, although it will take care to ensure that it does not create a bottleneck to this enormous endeavor.
Since the program was launched, it has been established in 946 high schools, colleges, and technical schools in 47 states and several countries. By the fall 1998, the program is expected to be established in all 50 states and in many additional countries.
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