Cape Verde
Academy Profile
Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde
Regional Academy
Established May 2002
Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde was the first university established in the Cape Verde’s chain of islands. Officially established on May 7, 2001, the University has grown to offer fifteen undergraduate programs and two postgraduate degrees. Technical degrees include System and Informatics Engineering, Information System Management, and Construction Engineering. The University has more than 60 faculty members.
In May of 2002, the University was formally established as a regional Cisco Networking Academy. After training instructors, it enrolled 50 students into its first class in October 2002. Equipment for the Academy includes 38 computers located in two computer labs and the switchers and routers provided by Cisco. As a member of the ITU-Cisco Internet Training Center Initiative, Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde is dedicated to the philosophy of the gender initiative and to recruiting female students; by May of 2003, the Academy had 31% female enrollment.
Because it is a regional Academy, Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde will serve as a point of expansion in order to reach Cape Verde’s half million inhabitants located amongst the country’s nine small islands. Initial plans are to target engineering and management programs amongst the student population; the university will look to create local academies in South Vicente Island and in Assomada city. By September 2003, it will begin training instructors to facilitate this growth. The Academy will also look to provide internship opportunities to graduates within organizations such as UNDP and the Peace Corps.
Overall, the Academy at Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo will play an important role in the continued growth and development of Cape Verde. As stated Isaias Barreto da Rosa, the Academy’s Lead Instructor and Administrator, “This will provide a great help in the process of bringing up the IT infrastructures and know how of the country.”
University homepage: http://www.caboverde.ipiaget.org