CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak met with the president and CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., one of the most widely recognized telecommunications and information technology companies worldwide, to discuss how information technology can aid in revolutionizing the educational system in Egypt. They were accompanied by the Minister of Communication and Information Technology Tarek Kamel, and the Vice President of Cisco in the Middle East, Yasser Al Kadey. According to Kamel, the Chairman of Cisco, John Chambers, who praised Egypt's IT training programs and the country's role in lending both its IT programs and the expertise of its citizens to neighboring countries, suggested to the president that the government use the same information technology that First Lady Suzanne Mubarak has adopted in Egypt as the primary means to update the educational system in the country, a move which was discussed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and will also be discussed at the forum in Sharm El Sheikh this May. During the meeting, Chambers also discussed the issue of the third mobile operator currently on bid in the country and the link between IT and the media. Chambers also discussed during the meeting the projects and investments the company has allocated toward improving education, the investments the company has poured into improving healthcare services in Egypt, in addition to the use of IT in order to modernize public administrative services. Founded in 1984, Cisco Systems, Inc. is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions that allow individuals, companies, and countries to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and strengthen competitive advantage. One of the company's most successful educational programs is the Cisco Networking Academy Program, a comprehensive e-learning program that provides students with the Internet technology skills essential in a global economy. The Networking Academy delivers web-based content, online assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on labs, instructor training and support and preparation for industry standard certifications. Launched in October 1997 with 64 educational institutions, the academy has spread to more than 150 countries, with more than 1.6 million students enrolled at more than 10,000 academies located in high schools, technical schools, colleges, universities and community-based organizations since the program's inception. According to Kamel, Cisco will open a branch in Egypt at the Smart Village next January. Currently, the company, which has offices in Bahrain, the UAE., Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is located in City Stars. With the opening of a second, bigger office, Cisco will be able to be more hands on when it comes to collaborating with the government in modernizing education through IT. Currently, there are 173 schools in the process of being modernized and updated with the use of IT, according to Kamel. An additional 1,000 schools will also get a face-lift during the second phase of the government's initiative to modernize schools through IT.
