Cisco NetAcad Conference, February 11, 2010 Chisinau, Leogrand Convention Center

“Cisco Networking Academy Program – a Successful Model for Educating ICT Skills” - the topic of the Cisco NetAcad Conference held on February 11, 2010 in Chisinau at Leogrand Convention Center.

The event presented the developments and successes of the Cisco NetAcad initiative in Moldova, the vision of the private sector and telecom sector regarding the contribution of CISCO Academies in Moldova to the quality of education of the young generation in ICT.

A greeting speech was delivered by U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Mr. Assif Chaudry. He highlighted the vital importance of new technologies in all spheres of life and appreciated the efforts of educational institutions of Moldova on successfully implementing the Cisco program.

Minister of Information Technologies and Communications Mr. Alexandru Oleinic his speech highlighted:
"ICT sector is, at least for now, the only one able to revive and support the sustainable growth of the country ... With regards to the quality of education we highly appreciate the contribution of CISCO Academies in Moldova. I would like to express my gratitude to the CEED project and the U.S. government, which supported the extension of Cisco Academies in educational institutions, thus enabling more young people to access quality knowledge in the field.
Moreover, I consider very important the initiative of bringing the ITE – a basic course on computer science for students – to high schools in Moldova. In modern society, the knowledge offered by this course is absolutely necessary to every citizen".

Cisco NetAcad Conference was organized by the project Competitiveness Enhancement and Enterprise Development (CEED) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The guests included representatives from the Ministry of Education, higher education institutions in Moldova, representatives of Association of Private ICT Companies, SA Moldtelecom, SE Information Society Development Institute, students, instructors and alumni of Cisco Local Academy in Moldova.

Launched with support of USAID, four local Cisco Academies successfully operate in the following institutions: Technical University of Moldova, Free International University of Moldova, Moldova State University and the Financial Banking College.

A special moment of the conference was the award ceremony, offering degrees to the best instructors, as well as students of Cisco NetAcad.

* Diploma of Excellence "For significant contributions to curriculum development in Moldova Cisco Networking Academy Program - Cisco Regional Academy in Moldova
* “For excellence in teaching" – Cisco NetAcad instructors
* “Best CCNA student"
* “Best ITE student"

Some of the SE Information Society Development Institute staff were awarded as best students. Congratulations and new accomplishments!