Business & Money | Sunday 14 February, 2016 2:10 pm |

 Cisco Saudi Arabia and “Arweqat Almarefa” have announced a strategic partnership that aims to provide instructional/ educational visual content specialized in the ICT sector. The content will include a plethora of disciplines that are designed to encourage students to take advantage of e-learning through the introduction of rich material that is both beneficial and essential for this digital age. Cisco Saudi Arabia will oversee the educational content which will be published in both Arabic and English on the “Mahara” Platform.

This initiative is part of Cisco's commitment to the local community and ongoing efforts to develop young and local talent. This project is also part of the educational and training initiative by “Arweqat Almarefa”, which seeks to provide training courses aimed at raising the capabilities and skills of the different segments of the Arab society.

Mohammed Alabbadi, General Manager of Cisco Saudi Arabia, commented on the importance of such collaborations: “This collaboration is an essential step that symbolizes Cisco’s educational role in enabling and promoting the capabilities of the young talent in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. This project is part of our social responsibility for the growth and development of communities around the world, especially the Saudi community"

Alabbadi continues “Cisco’s role is to reach the largest possible number of young audience to develop and provide them with the necessary skills to build a brighter future, and thus the participation in any such development process requires consistency. This can only be` accomplished by drawing on what they gain from the knowledge and skills in various disciplines and areas, particularly in the field of technology, which is essential in any current and future development."

Mr. Fouad Al Farhan, Cofounder and Executive Manager of “Arweqat Almarefa”, explained “We did not hesitate to do our part for the launch of this visual educational content, which goes hand in hand with our vision to create a unique electronic educational experience, and position it in a way that motivates students to focus on a virtual education.  This rich content in “Rwaq” is one of the main reasons that allowed us to enter into this joint collaboration, especially since Cisco is the world leader in the field of information ICT. We see that the Arab youth shows great interest in this field and we are constantly seeking to provide them with anything and everything we can to help them acquire the necessary skills in this vital sector. "

Al Farhan continues saying “It is certain that the compatibility and integration of ideas between Cisco Saudi Arabia and the “Arweqat Almarefa” contributed to building a successful platform that actively enriches the labour market and provides a distinctive addition in the technology sector. This is a clear indicator of further successes that we aspire to sustain with a conscious and effective community.

“Arweqat Almarefa” is considered the first Arab knowledge platform in terms of the number of students enrolled and material provided. According to data collected by Class Central in 2015 on Massive Online open Courses, Rwaq came in ninth place, with 2.36% of the total provided material. It is not required from the presenters at “Mahara” to be university lecturers as is customary in “Rwaq’s” platform, instead it is sufficient for them to have practical work experience, with premium training content they wish to deliver to large segments of the Arab public. Rwaq academy aims to create a better informed workforce that knows the latest technologies and practices, and is able to lead the digital transformation.