Cisco to Advance the Quality of Education in UNESCO Associated Schools in Russia

Cisco and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education to Implement a Joint Project in Central and Privolzhsky Federal Districts of the Russian Federation

MOSCOW – October 31, 2011 – Cisco and the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) announced a joint program aimed at improving the quality of education in UNESCO Associated Schools with the help of advanced education and information technologies. As a part of the project, Cisco will make available its IT Essentials training course developed for the Cisco® Networking Academy®. Using the course as a basis, Cisco and UNESCO IITE will develop a new joint course for 75 UNESCO Associated Schools in the Central and Privolzhsky federal districts of the Russian Federation.

Key Facts / Highlights

• The first phase of the project will include upgrading the professional skills of 150 school teachers.  By September 2012 all of them are expected to complete their training to teach IT Essentials and to study special training modules developed for schoolteachers by UNESCO IITE. The first group, consisting of 14 teachers and three IITO representatives, will be trained by Cisco experts. The remainder will be trained by IITE instructors.  Cisco will give two Cisco Linksys® routers to each of the 20 schools whose teachers show the best results at final exams.

• The joint training course based on Cisco IT Essentials will be included as an option in the curriculum for students in their ninth to 11th school years. Apart from providing a deep theoretical knowledge, the course will help students develop practical skills through the active use of Internet resources, media content, simulators and games, which will make the training process much more interactive, entertaining and efficient. After the course the students will undergo electronic exams to get international Networking Academy certificates. Every year at least 1,500 Russian schoolchildren will be trained within the Cisco and UNESCO IITE joint initiative.

Supporting Quotes:

• Nella Pruss, national coordinator of the UNESCO Associated Schools project in the Russian Federation:

“We intend to raise the quality of education in UNESCO Associated Schools by implementing state-of-the-art education and information technologies in the framework of a “Smart School” concept. The schools try to proliferate best practices as well as new management and education technologies.  The UNESCO Institute of Information Technologies in Education is actively turning schools into innovative education centers, or ‘schools of the future’.”

• Alexander Khoroshilov, head of IT potential development group, UNESCO IITE:

“The most important feature of a knowledge society is the top priority of human factors in the ubiquitous penetration of information technologies in all spheres of our daily lives. Informatization is a key factor of structural change in our society. As a result, the informatization level of the “school of the future” should be very high. The  Latin “e” has become the most popular prefix today. We say: e-book, e-bank, e-school.” 

• Alexander Turilin, Cisco Networking Academy coordinator in Russia:

“The program opens access to innovative education opportunities provided by Cisco and helps us to spread innovative education methods. Cooperation between Cisco and IITE will additionally extend previously announced Cisco initiatives aimed at the development and modernization of IT education in Russia.”

Tags, Keywords: Russia, Cisco, Networking Academy, IT Essentials

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Supporting resources:

• Cisco website
• UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education
• Cisco’s support for IT Education in Russia

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Russia is supplied through its authorized channel partners by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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