Internationalising Higher Education

In order to build the capacity of Palestinian refugee's youth, women and civil servants in the field of ICT, UNRWA, in partnership with Cisco Systems, has established the first generation of Cisco Networking Academies (CNA) in UNRWA. It was established in December 2001 in Jordan, Syria, Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon. This partnership is part of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Initiative - a joint initiative by Cisco Systems, UNDP, USAID, UNV and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to bridge the digital divide in the world's LDCs. Since the first day, UNRWA has managed to incorporate CNA courses in the study plans of ICT specialisations offered at UNRWA vocational training centres. This pioneer step was taken to offset the cost of implementation and ensure the sustainability of the project. The upgrade of UNRWA Wadi Seer Training Center to Regional Academy status in December 2001 was a key milestone in the sustainability of the UNRWA Cisco programme. Due to the programme's success and to strengthen the existing Networking Academies in the areas of sustainability, workforce development and gender, UNRWA expanded the partnership in 2008 by introducing new curricula (IT essential, Wireless LAN and Security). Cisco has provided in-kind contribution for programme and training support, curriculum updates and equipment. In 2009, UNRWA Cisco CNA received the Cisco Against all odds award. This poster will discuss the programme and reasons for the award.