From primary education to professional upskilling, digital skills, are increasingly recognized as a top priority in education and employment. With this in mind, Business Partners reached out to Cisco’s Antonis Tsiboukis and Elena Prassaki to find out more about NetAcad, Cisco’s global IT and cybersecurity education program.
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Antonis Tsiboukis, Managing Director at Cisco Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta
What is the philosophy behind Cisco Networking Academy, NetAcad?
Cisco Networking Academy is the world’s longest running corporate social responsibility education program. It is dedicated to supporting digital transformation and developing digital skills by offering the most up-to-date courses in critical market areas. In today’s fast-changing business environment, employees must quickly adapt to new technologies, and this makes digital skills increasingly important. Through the NetAcad program, Cisco creates the necessary conditions to strengthen learners’ digital skills and provide them with a wealth of knowledge.
NetAcad’s methodology and success are rooted in preparing students to face the challenges they will encounter in their academic and professional careers
What are the elements that contribute to NetAcad’s success and what distinguishes it as a top educational program?
NetAcad’s success is built on two pillars. Firstly, it reflects Cisco’s perception of social responsibility and recognizes the primary role of human factors in development. Secondly, it has a proven ability to adapt to market trends. As professional demands are constantly evolving, high-quality educational materials are necessary to equip participants with substantive knowledge and the ability to adapt and evolve. NetAcad’s methodology and success are rooted in preparing students to face the challenges they will encounter in their academic and professional careers. This approach ensures that participants are well-equipped with the skills they need to thrive in their future endeavors.
Elena Prassaki, Country Digital Acceleration Marketing and Communications Manager and Networking Academy Development Manager at Cisco Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta
What do NetAcad’s study programs focus on and who are they for?
NetAcad’s study programs aim to bridge the digital divide, enhance digital skills, and facilitate the professional reintegration of students. Since 2005, over three million graduates have found new employment opportunities through these programs. The target audience for NetAcad’s programs is all citizens, without discrimination, with the overarching goal of reducing social inequalities. Cisco’s vision for the program is to unite people and provide equal access to education and training for all. This is achieved by offering a diverse range of courses on a single platform, ranging from the most fundamental to the most current, to enable everyone to acquire new skills.
Cisco’s vision for the program is to unite people and provide equal access to education and training for all
What is Cisco’s relationship with the educational and research community in Greece, given that the link between digital skills and education is collaboration?
Cisco has been closely collaborating with Greece’s educational and research community for several years, particularly in the field of computer science education. We take pride in acting as the bridge between education and industry through our pan-European NetAcad program. We emphasize collaborating with both public and private local entities, which is at the core of our success.
We have already collaborated with several universities in Greece, including the University of Thessaly, the University of Peloponnese, the University of Piraeus in the Department of Digital Systems, and the University of Macedonia. Moreover, we recently announced the provision of free digital skills education to several municipalities in Greece.
In Greece, our partnerships and academies cover almost 100 locations throughout the country, with over 60 certified instructors, and more than 22,000 graduates and 4,500 registered students today. The ongoing digital transformation has already increased the demand for skilled IT professionals in Greece, especially in the area of reskilling. Our supportive ecosystem, which includes all Cisco resources and hundreds of its partners worldwide, makes the learning experience possible, leading to the acquisition of skills in the workplace.
About Cisco NetAcad
Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad) is a global educational program that has trained over 15 million students in 190 countries to date. The NetAcad network now includes around 12,000 partner educational institutions, more than 29,300 qualified instructors, and over 2.3 million students. The program offers a variety of courses in networking, security, cybersecurity, the internet of things (IoT), programming, and more, and these courses are available in 29 languages and delivered through e-learning. Essentially, the program provides cutting-edge educational tools to educational institutions, schools, and learners worldwide, as the educational platform is shared.
NetAcad is dedicated to empowering learners of all ages and backgrounds to shape their own future. A significant dimension of this strategy involves local communities, which is reflected in the program’s partnerships with a large number of municipalities providing free upskilling to citizens.
