SINGAPORE - 07 Dec, 2011 – The Malaysian team was declared the winner at the annual Cisco Asia Pacific NetRiders 2011 competition held by the Cisco® Networking Academy® - an information and communications technology(ICT) education program that prepares students for careers in the 21st-century global economy. This is the second time that a team from Malaysia has won the highly coveted title, and their prize is an all expenses-paid trip to the United States as well as bragging rights for the next 12 months.

The Cisco Asia Pacific NetRiders 2011 competition was one of the largest real-time video competitions held in Asia, with students from 17 countries using Cisco TelePresence® and Cisco WebEx® to demonstrate how organizations can collaborate across geographic and cultural barriers while earning carbon credits.

The students, currently enrolled in the Networking Academy program that develops their ICT, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, were tested in the areas of computer network hardware design, configuration, development and maintenance. The competition creates an interactive experience and enhances classroom learning while providing the students with a chance to showcase their networking skills to talent recruiters in the ICT and networking industry. To date, more than 16,000 Networking Academy students have competed in the Cisco NetRiders events across 80 countries.

Team Malaysia, comprising Chan Eng Siang from the Multimedia University and Lim Yu Jie from the Tunku Abdul Rahman College, aced the two levels of testing in this competition: first, a theoretical exam and then, an online network configuration through a computer simulation test using Packet Tracer 5.3.

In second and third place, respectively, were the teams from the AMA Computer University in the Philippines and the Lalith Athulathmudali Vocational Training Center in Sri Lanka.

ICT Education Transforming Nations

Education has a profound impact on the way people live and the choices available to them during their lifetimes and a firm foundation for lifelong learning, unlocking the doors to opportunity and prosperity. Countries are also using technology and the internet as the basis for national transformation agenda by improving efficiencies, increasing competitive advantage, empowering individuals towards a knowledge-based, future-ready society and as a result, improve national GDP.

Cisco Networking Academies in the Philippines and Sri Lanka fosters network-enabled social innovation in human capital development, entrepreneurship and community empowerment. The governments of Sri Lanka and the Philippines recognize the importance of ICT as a catalyst for the country's social and economic transformation.

Sri Lanka currently has 1,632 students currently enrolled in the program and more than 3,247 students have received ICT focused education since the program inception in 2001. Sri Lanka currently has 961 Cisco Certification Ready students.

In the Philippines 69,298 students are currently enrolled in the Networking Academy program with more than 222,496 students graduating from the program since it started in 1998. The Philippines has 32,983 Cisco certified students.