At a Glance: Cisco Networking Academy
The Cisco® Networking Academy® is a public-private partnership between Cisco, governments, education institutions, non-government organisations (NGOs) and industry, created to teach students how to design, build and maintain computer networks.

Countries	168
Academies	9000+
Students	465,000+ currently enrolled
Instructors	16,000+
Daily exams	30,000
Features	preparation for industry-standard certifications Web-based content online assessment performance tracking hands-on labs instructor training and support
Study areas include	CCNA® CCNP® UNIX Java Panduit Network Infrastructure Essentials Security Wireless IT Essentials (PC hardware and software, plus networking operating systems)
Commercial partners include	Panduit Sigmanet Fluke Networks NDG Netlab
Locations include	High schools, technical schools, colleges and universities community organisations military academies hospitals prisons

Cisco Networking Academy: History and Objectives
The Cisco Networking Academy began in 1997 as a high school network support curriculum and has developed into a highly successful worldwide educational programme.

It offers students around the world an opportunity to pursue Internet technology curricula through Web-based instructor-led training and hands-on laboratory exercises.

Teaching basic to advanced IT skills, the Networking Academy prepares students for industry-standard certifications, including CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) and CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional).

Cisco Networking Academy: Background
The Cisco Networking Academy is designed to complement the type of technology training traditionally delivered by educational establishments and provides a hands-on introduction to the networking technologies that are driving business today.
This offers many benefits to the student:

• With much of the course material delivered direct to the student’s desktop via the Internet, the NetAcad takes advantage of the latest computer-based training techniques, letting the student work at their own pace, any time and anywhere.
• The NetAcad labs always contain new equipment, students learn on the actual devices they will be working on in the business.
• The programme qualifies students to pursue a number of industry standard certifications, including CCNA, CCNP and Network+.

Cisco Networking Academy: Universal Benefits
We believe that skills can be a route to long-term sustainability in emerging markets and our work in these areas is designed to give people the skills to compete in a global Internet economy.

This belief is borne out by organisations such as the United Nations or USAID, which support our efforts, and also by community leaders in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world, which have welcomed the introduction of the programme.

NetAcad has won many plaudits and attracted favourable press coverage around the world. Business Ethics magazine recently acknowledged the work of the programme and it has been praised by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Within Cisco, the NetAcad is very much seen as having strategic importance in forging relationships with governments, particularly in nations undergoing country transformation programmes.

Within the industry, the Cisco Networking Academy is recognised as being the only globally-available networking accreditation course of its kind.