Cisco uses its technology and expertise to accelerate global problem solving and positively impact people, society, and the planet
At the Cisco India Summit 2018, the company highlighted its various initiatives and programs to positively impact 50 million beneficiaries in India by 2025. This goal is aligned to Cisco’s global vision of impacting 1 billion lives worldwide by 2025 through digital solutions. As part of its philanthropic and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, Cisco highlighted the critical role information and communication technology (ICT) and public-private partnerships play to accelerate global problem solving and positively impact people, society, and the planet.
Cisco is setting up a network of “Cisco thingQbator” IoT makerspaces or innovation labs in five academic institutions in India with the objective of digital skills development and entrepreneurship enablement among student communities. Cisco is collaborating with the NASSCOM Foundation for the implementation of the program. The makerspaces will enable students to get hands on with technology and conceive digital solutions to local problems. The five academic institutions that have been chosen for establishment of ‘thingQbator’ makerspaces are Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, (IIITMK), Kerala, IIT-BHU Varanasi, Amrita University Coimbatore, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women- Delhi and Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar.
Cisco is also supporting N/Core, an incubator for social sector startups, to launch N/Core tech – an exclusive track focused on incubating early-stage nonprofits that leverage digital technology to positively impact society and solve some of India’s most pressing social challenges. N/Core tech will primarily focus on incubating companies that are developing solutions in the areas of critical human needs, education, and economic empowerment. Cisco will support up to 20 organizations during the first year in two cohorts. Each selected startup will receive an innovation grant of INR 10 Lakhs. In addition, the startup will have access to a set of mentors and technology experts from Cisco along with N/Core partners.
As part of its efforts to accelerate India’s digital transformation, Cisco is scaling up its Cisco Networking Academy program to create a pool of highly-skilled technology professionals. Through this program schools, colleges, universities and other non-profit educational institutions are provided Cisco-developed curriculum in computer networking, security and IoT that can be integrated with the institution’s own educational offering. Cisco also supports public sector organizations like The Telangana Academy for Skills and Knowledge, and the ICT Academy of Kerala, to provide training on networking and cybersecurity skills aimed at improving employability of engineering graduates in those states. By 2020 Cisco aims to create a pipeline of 250,000 skilled students in India as well as a marketplace for high-value technology-based careers. Already over 155,000 students have successfully picked up essentials skills from over 306 academies across the country.
Cisco also launched the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Internet of Things (IoT) at R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru to give the next generation of students the digital skills and training necessary for jobs in the digital economy. On completion of the course, students and working professionals receive credential certificates jointly given by RVCE and Cisco. In the last one year, 1000 students have benefitted from this CoE.
V C Gopalratnam, Trustee, Cisco Foundation & Senior Vice President, IT & CIO – International said, “According to a Cisco research, by 2030 there will more than 500 billion devices connected to the Internet. This will have a profound effect on not just businesses but our everyday lives too. In order to make the most of the plethora of opportunities that lie ahead of us, we will need to harness the power of technology to create an inclusive digital economy. With our philanthropic and CSR efforts, we are committed to positively impact 50 million beneficiaries in India the next seven years. We work with some of the most forward thinking partners, not-for-profit organizations, collaborative governments and scores of passionate employees to really make a different to the world that we inhabit.”
