New Delhi: Cisco has announced its collaboration with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to introduce the ICT curriculum in six selected Accredited Vocational Institutes (AVIs). These institutes as a Cisco Local Academy will provide IT Essentials - PC hardware and networking information technology course to around 100 students each year as a part of their offerings.

The course prepares students for networking and IT-related careers in the public and private sectors, as well as for higher education in engineering, computer science and related fields. The selected AVIs are located at Ambala, Bhopal, Balangir (Orissa), Delhi, Mumbai and Shillong and several more NIOS AVI's are envisaged to start this course. Cisco has imparted training to nine instructors from the above AVIs on IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software at the Centre for Electronic Governance, Jaipur from January 18-23, 2010. As a part of this initiative, Cisco will provide its free web based curriculum, online course material of the Networking Academy and 24x7 technical support to the institutes.

Commenting on the announcement, Lokesh Mehra, Regional Manager, Corporate Responsibility, Cisco - South Asia said, "We are proud to collaborate with NIOS in its efforts to bring networking education to students at various centres across the country."

Dr. S.S. Jena, Chairman of NIOS said, "Through the Networking Academy program, students of accredited vocational institutions across India will receive the benefit of Internet and networking education. This will not only help students tap opportunities in the IT world but also help meet the Prime Minister’s vision of a knowledge-based economy by 2020."

NIOS will introduce the IT Essentials course intended for students in upper secondary schools, technical and vocational schools, who want to pursue careers in IT and gain working knowledge of how computers work, how to assemble computers, and how to troubleshoot hardware and software issues. In addition to networking and IT skills, the curricula also reinforces IT literacy, problem-solving, communication and working with others from different backgrounds. Students receive the same quality of education through e-learning curricula, labs and online assessments, as well as consistency of certifications. The Networking Academy's blended learning model integrates face-to-face teaching with a web-based curriculum, lab exercises, and Internet-based assessment. Worldwide, there are 10,000 Networking Academy institutions and more than 1.6 million students in over 150 countries.

Commenting on the training Dr. Anita Priyadarshini, Director, Vocational Education, NIOS said, "Jobs of the future will go where there is an educated workforce, an infrastructure and a supportive government. We strongly believe that by working with industry leaders such as Cisco, we can provide the appropriate training to students to provide talent needed to support the IT industry in the region."