Announcing Cisco Networking Academy's Q3 Be the Bridge Award Winners
By Katherine Carvalho
After several years of events that have changed the world, it’s easy to overlook the good news. News such as an additional 800 million people connecting to the internet around the globe between 2019 and 2021, bringing new opportunities, particularly in developing countries.
And while figures for developed countries such as the United States appear static, (internet usage only increased by one percent of the population between 2016 and 2021), they are anything but: Internet traffic per capita more than doubled in the US during that time.
Everywhere across the globe the talent to build and maintain networks to carry this traffic is in demand, and Cisco Networking Academy is at the forefront of training that talent.
Our partners are integral to delivering this training, and Cisco Networking Academy Be the Bridge Awards celebrate the efforts of partners who have elevated their dedication to student success.
I’m thrilled to announce the partners who are deserving recipients of Be the Bridge Awards for this Cisco financial quarter (Q3) of financial year 2022 (FY22).
I’d like to thank these amazing partners for their extraordinary work, and trust that this recognition encourages more such inspiring efforts.
Institution Awards
EdCreate Foundation – India
Stellar performance in driving the NetAcad Skillathon 2022 Program in India—a collaboration between EdCreate, state governments and academies to impact more than 20,000 students in Cisco Certified Training (CCT), Career student participants (SP) and Explore courses.
Association of I.T. Leaders in Education – Hong Kong SAR
Innovative approaches to learning for High School students in Hong Kong during an early summer holiday (due to the pandemic) with exciting results, through a Skills Competition focused on IT Essentials and Internet of Things and a Learnathon focused on Python and Cybersecurity courses.
National Telecommunication Institute – Egypt
Engaging in national initiatives across six public universities in Egypt to enable youth and fresh graduates to qualify for Cisco Certified Training (CCT) tracks, in particular in CCNA and Cyber Ops. The quality of the training and instructors speak for themselves with more than 95 percent completion rates.
eForHum – Italy
Leading innovative hybrid learning approaches for student success in Italy, challenging them with network, cybersecurity and software development tasks with exposure to Cisco Sales partner opportunities, and empowering students for job placement.
Merlin Data Technology – Perú
Exceptional capacity and creative drive bridging new opportunities for strategic education projects to take Networking Academy to the next level in Perú.
Individual Awards
Takeshi Okuda, Osaka University, Japan
Always taking the initiative to develop new Networking Academies in Japan, with innovative and flexible approaches to enable instructor community development.
Steve Richards, Platinum, United States
Being integral to the US and Canada Programmability Initiative, including payment, logistics, communication, and training instructors in Python, Linux, Networking Essentials, with a commitment to the upcoming DevNet Associate course later in the year.
About Cisco Networking Academy
Cisco Networking Academy is the world’s largest and longest running corporate social responsibility education program in the world. We’re particularly proud of our collective impact, especially for under-resourced and underrepresented people in our communities.
Our mission is to empower all people with career possibilities by transforming the lives of learners, educators, and communities through the power of technology, education, and career opportunities.
We partner with nearly 12,000 educational institutions across 180 countries and offer curriculum in up to 27 languages. More than 15 million learners worldwide have participated in Networking Academy since 1997; 2.9 million learners who have participated in career certification or IT Essentials courses say that Networking Academy helped them obtain a new job.
Our inclusive workforce development program equips educators with leading curriculum (licensed free to educational and non-profit institutions), Webex by Cisco, and resources and learners with industry-recognized skills and certifications. This is a true end-to-end skills-to-jobs program connecting learners with peers, mentors, and job opportunities through our job-matching engine, Talent Bridge.
Learn more about Cisco Networking Academy and see our previous Be the Bridge Award winners here and here.
