Cisco Joins Forces With Sheridan College and Partners In Research to Expand Education in Canada
TORONTO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/30/13 -- Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) -- Cisco Canada today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sheridan College and Partners In Research (PIR), to promote science and technology as a career path and transform the way K-12 students learn about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in the classroom.
Under the terms of the MoU the parties will collaborate on activities and projects that take advantage of advanced video technologies. Cisco has contributed over $1 million worth of collaboration equipment to enable the project. To deliver these solutions, Sheridan College is providing the data centre space and IT resources to support the enterprise-class Cisco Show and Share® webcasting and video sharing solution.
The collaboration seeks to expand and enrich the opportunities for students presented by the VROC (Virtual Researcher on Call) program across Canada. Run by Partners In Research, the VROC program seeks to inspire students in STEM subjects by bringing experts directly to the classroom through two-way video. The VROC program offers five- to ten-minute spontaneous video conferencing sessions, hour-long interactive presentations and semester-long mentorship style sessions.
Using technology like the Show and Share webcasting and video sharing application, Partners In Research are also able to create accessible videos which are distributed through its website to students and teachers.
Facts and Highlights:
- Sheridan, Cisco and PIR have installed and configured a Cisco® Multipoint Conference Unit, Cisco TelePresence® Content Server (TCS), Cisco Media Experience Engine (MXE), and Cisco Show and Share in the data centre at Sheridan's Trafalgar campus, to act as the platform for the VROC program.
- VROC (Virtual Researcher on Call) has a varied video database geared to students interested in science (Science Scoop), technology (Tech Talk), Engineering (Engineer This), and Math (Why Math?).
- Researchers participating in VROC videos are subject matter experts in areas such as sustainable engineering, aviation, astronomy, neuroscience, computer science, medicine and many more.
- The VROC videos bring real-life context to the theoretical formulas and concepts students are learning in the classroom, helping them make the link between learning and future careers.
- Cisco Show and Share technology and Sheridan's data centre and network resources mean VROC videos are online and available for viewing by anyone on the PIR/VROC website.
- Cisco Show and Share is a webcasting and video sharing application that supports highly secure video communities and user-generated content.
Supporting Quotes
Jeff Zabudsky, president and CEO, Sheridan College
"As a leading postsecondary institution in Canada, Sheridan is passionate about immersing people in learning. We are delighted to offer our considerable experience and resources to the VROC program to help facilitate this goal. Once students leave grade 12, there are tremendous opportunities for them to pursue applied studies in science, technology, engineering or math at Sheridan. Our programs help to prepare Canada's young graduates for the careers that they will have over the course of their lifetimes."
Kevin Cougler, executive director, Partners In Research
"By partnering with Cisco and Sheridan, we are better able to deliver innovative hybrid in-class experiences to students and continue to transform and enhance Canadian education. Through programs like VROC, Canadian experts can better reach students in the most remote areas of Canada and inspire them to pursue higher education."
Nitin Kawale, president, Cisco Canada
"The Internet of Everything is shaping the world around us by connecting people, process, data and things, enriching and empowering people's lives. Education in particular stands to benefit greatly from this transformation as these new opportunities will have a positive impact on the nature of learning in Canada, especially with regards to the use of video communications. With the flick of a switch, neighbourhood classrooms will have easy video access to compelling experts from around the world, giving students a valuable resource as they embark on their career paths."
About Partners In Research
Partners In Research (PIR) is a registered Canadian charity founded in 1988 to help Canadians understand the significance, accomplishments and promise of biomedical research in advancing health and medicine. Since its genesis, PIR has broadened its scope to encompass Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as fields of discovery and study for Canadian students. In 2006, PIR introduced Virtual Researcher On Call (VROC).
About Sheridan
Sheridan College is one of Canada's leading postsecondary institutions, offering over 100 diploma, certificate, and bachelor degree programs in an environment that fosters innovation and creativity. Its aim is to become Ontario's first university exclusively dedicated to undergraduate professional education -- a model that will be based on applied learning and Sheridan's renown for creativity and innovation. The model also focuses on meeting university accreditation requirements so that Sheridan graduates have more pathways to the continued learning that will underscore their personal, career, and industry success.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. Cisco products and services are supplied in Canada by Cisco Systems Canada Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com and http://newsroom.cisco.com/canada.
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