With a top priority of creating favorable conditions for intensive ICT study in local secondary schools in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, ORT and Cisco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding relating to the opening of Cisco Networking Academy™ programs in six schools. The document will help expand cooperation between the two organizations to raise the quality of ICT training in the schools.

In the framework of the initiative, Networking Academy programs have already opened at the ORT Technological School (Gymnazium 1540) and ORT Education Center 1311 “Thiya” in Moscow; Secondary School 12 (“ORT Mishpakhteynu”) in Kazan; Professional Training School 2 in Tula and “ORT-KesherNet” training centers in the cities of Tula and Tambov. As a first step, ORT and CISCO worked together to increase the professional skills of eleven teachers in the selected schools and training centers.

The main areas of ORT operations in Russia include deployment of information and communications technologies (ICT) in education, professional training and skills upgrade of teachers, technological education in secondary schools, primary and secondary professional education and the professional information technology training and retraining of adults.

Every year ORT schools and training centers in Russia provide education and training to 17,000 students.