Cisco and Kuwait’s Public Authority for Applied Education and Training Agree on Working Template for Education Development

Cisco, PAAET and Information Centre Join Forces to Provide Voice and Video Communication Technology Solutions

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait - Cisco today announced a series of ongoing initiatives to support Kuwait’s education development in the region, including the appointment of the company as an official strategic technology partner for Kuwait’s Public Authority for Applied Education & Training (PAAET) and the Kuwait Information Centre.
Highlights / Key Facts:

* The first phase of the initiatives saw the installation of a Cisco® Unified Wireless Network providing connectivity among PAAET office locations across 20 locations. The next phase will equip the rest of the PAAET offices with the wireless solution.
* The Kuwait Information Centre deployed a Cisco Unified Videoconferencing solution to help facilitate simpler conference-hosting services for more than eight participants at a time. This solution, available in both standard and high definition, interoperates with Cisco TelePresenceTM systems and other standards-based videoconferencing solutions.
* Cisco will provide a strategic plan for how to best use the infrastructure and network security measures in addition to providing voice, visual communications and wireless networks.
* Important aspects of Cisco’s strategic plan will include devising long- and short-term strategies to boost e-learning in Kuwait with the aim of directly raising the efficiency of teaching PAAET students.
* The Cisco Unified Wireless Network is a high-performance, unified wired and wireless network solution that cost-effectively addresses the wireless network security, deployment, management and controls issues that an enterprise faces. It combines the best elements of wireless and wired networking to deliver highly secure, scalable wireless networks with a low total cost of ownership. The solution also offers greater throughput, reliability and predictability for wireless networks with 802.11n and extends coverage and network connectivity with enterprise wireless mesh for indoor and outdoor locations, whilst ensuring a smooth migration path to future technologies and services.

Executive Quotes:

* Tarek Ghoul, general manager for Cisco Gulf

“Building information technology talent to accelerate job creation in the Gulf region is a key priority for Cisco. We are committed to do our utmost to ensure the success of this strategic cooperation, as we believe in the instrumental role PAAET is playing in developing talent across the region.”

* Salem Aldallal, general manager of the Kuwait Information Centre

“These initiatives come as a part of the strategic plan the centre has recently prepared and briefed the PAAET general manager on. Our aim is to prioritise support to private sector companies that provide the investment and talent to meet PAAET’s needs.”

* Dr. Yacoub Al Rifae, general manager, PAAET

“The PAAET will make every effort to provide the centre with all the necessary facilities and equipment to help boost education by making the IT information and education available and accessible to the students in PAAET.”

Links / URLs:

* Emerging Markets RSS Feed:

http://newsroom.cisco.com/data/syndication/rss2/EmergingMarkets.xml
* Middle East News:

http://newsroom.cisco.com/me

About Cisco

Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in the Middle East is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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Cisco, the Cisco logo and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.