Zimbabwe
Academy Profile
University of Zimbabwe
Regional Academy
Established September 2002
The oldest higher learning institution in Zimbabwe, the University of Zimbabwe, brought the Cisco Networking Academy to Harare in September 2002. The institution’s senior staff members pioneered the establishment of the Regional Academy in cooperation with the ITU and Cisco Systems under the Internet Training Centers Initiative.
Prior to the ITU-Cisco initiative at the University of Zimbabwe, many IT professionals and professors from Zimbabwe had to travel to South Africa to receive CCNA training and networking expertise. Today these professionals and professors can now look to their own university for this kind of knowledge; the foundation of the Zimbabwe University Regional Academy represents a new source of IT learning, job training and career opportunities for students and professionals in Zimbabwe. Dr. Edward Chikuni, Academy Manager, relates, “The CCNA curriculum compliments our current degree courses in the Faculty of Computer Engineering – the Academy Program is really invaluable to our University.”
The Academy has set strong goals for its first year: 30% female enrollment, a minimum of 25 students per class with at least 25 students finishing CCNA 1-4 within the first year, and a 100% pass rate. In addition, the Academy has plans to upgrade its 20 computers from low-level PCs to Pentium III PCs with network cards. In the next four years, the Academy hopes to train 10 local academies and to offer the CCNP course at the regional and local levels.
For more information about the University of Zimbabwe, please visit: www.uz.ac.zw