NetAcadAnnouncements Networking Academy Helps Lebanon Interns Succeed Ten of the 20 Lebanese interns who participated in the Partnership for Lebanon’s six month internship program at Cisco offices in the United States were Networking Academy graduates. Before beginning their work at Cisco, the interns had already collectively earned four CCNP certifications, five CCNA certifications, and one CCIE written certification. By the time they completed their internships, the interns had earned 12 CCNA, 12 CCNP, and eight CCIE written certifications and one CCIE lab certification. Few people in Lebanon have earned the extremely competitive CCIE certification, which is the highest level of professional certification offered by Cisco. “They achieved an amazing record in a very short time,” says Majid Karam, operations manager and intern program supervisor. After successfully completing their internships at Cisco, the interns returned to Lebanon and started their job search. At least six of the interns are completing the interview process with Nazlink, a Lebanese company. Cisco’s Partnership for Lebanon interns from previous programs have also begun to develop successful careers in IT thanks to their Networking Academy and internship experiences. Hussam El Kebbi graduated from Beirut Arab University with a communications degree. He struggled to find a job in his chosen field, communications and networking, and the job search left him feeling “desperate and hopeless.” Hussam said that his luck changed when he learned about the Networking Academy and decided to sign up. While completing the CCNA course, Hussam learned about the Partnership for Lebanon’s six month internship program. He applied to the program and was accepted to work at a Cisco office in Arizona upon receiving his CCNA certification. After completing his internship, Hussam was offered a position as a solution integrator at Ericsson Lebanon Communications SARL in Lebanon. Hussam’s career has already come full circle. He is now an associate network consulting engineer at Cisco and he is continuing his training in India. Next, he will train in Jordan. Nada Abdallah also benefited from Cisco Networking Academy. She was the first CCNA certified women in the Lebanese Ministry of Education. Nada joined the program as a trainer and at the time, she was the only woman in a class of 17 students. “It was an incentive for me to prove to myself and to others that networking is a field for both sexes,” Nada says. She is now a CCNA instructor at the Industrial Technical Institute (ITI) in Beirut and she’s encouraged by the growing number of women showing interest in the field and joining her classes.