NewsStrategy

Cisco launched in Singapore a community-led professional development initiative for instructors at the five polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education.

The initiative involves the teaching community at the Institutes of Technical Education, Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore. Together they will assess how Cisco's content can be developed into learning materials for their students.

Cisco's Advanced Technology Seminar Series (ATS) will provide lecturers in these schools with training and hands-on experience working with technologies for cloud computing, data center and collaboration solutions. Based on this guidance, the schools will customize the content for students, who will be able to learn about these technologies and solutions as an extension of their networking knowledge.

ITE College West will be the first institute to launch ATS to its students. The ATS will be managed by a committee with instructors from the academies, led by Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic.

Dr. Eric Cheung, director of School of Electronics & Info-Comm Technology, ITE College West, said: The instructor-led ATS group is an excellent platform for lecturers from different institutions to come together to create content for our students. Through these collaborative efforts, we have launched a new elective on 'Cloud Computing Infrastructure' within the Higher Nitec in Network Security Technology course curriculum conducted at ITE College West, in January this year. We are likely to leverage on the ATS platform again in our planning of curriculum for the new Nitec in Info-Communication Technology (Cloud Computing) course.

"Singapore Polytechnic, partnering with Cisco and other industry leaders, launched an operational-ready Cloud Computing Center (SPE³C³) on SP campus last year," said Ng Weng Lam, director of School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Singapore Polytechnic. "This private cloud computing facility will be used for both curriculum training and research and development activities.”

Depending on the success of this pilot program, Cisco will explore the probability of replicating this initiative in countries around Southeast Asia.