Staffordshire University - Excellence in Computer Networking

 Close links with Cisco Systems

We have close and growing links with Cisco Systems, the most important supplier of computer networking equipment in the world. Their Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Networking Professional (CCNP) certifications (both of which we cover on our undergraduate courses) are amongst the most sought after professional qualifications in the computing industry. Our reputation and the reputation of our students is growing and Cisco themselves are very impressed with what we do, as the news stories below all show.

Cisco International Networking Competition – Staffordshire University student success

One of our students (Chris Johnson) came second in the national heats for an international competition for computer networking students sponsored by Cisco Systems. To understand the significance of this you should realise that the competition was open to all Cisco Networking Academy students in the UK (692 academies with 80,840 students). Chris will now proceed to represent the UK as a finalist in the international round of the competition against students from the rest of Europe (3134 academies and 414,506 students) for a regional winner and also the rest of the world for the overall competition winner. The regional and overall winners will go on study trip to Cisco Systems in the USA.  

Chris has already been contacted by Cisco for a copy of his CV for potential future recruitment, globally within Cisco and their partners. Chris is a mature student.  Who says that you can’t learn new things?

Cisco Internships

Cisco Systems had 3 internships on offer in the UK this year. Cisco were so impressed with the quality of the candidates we sent them for interview that not only did our students fill the 3 existing internships, but they created a fourth internship just in order to be able to take on a fourth Staffordshire University student.  This was a great opportunity for our placement students as three of the four internships went to placement students.

Employment opportunities for our students

At a recent visit the Cisco Graduate Recruitment Manager Europe was so impressed by our students that she was keen to employ our students even for non-networking positions with Cisco and wanted us to push our students to apply for 8 software engineering jobs with Cisco that she has. In the past 2 weeks we have heard that 2 of our current third year students will be returning to Cisco to take up permanent jobs with them after having undertaken an industrial placement with them.

Networking equipment finds a new home

Recently, Cisco offered us some very..very expensive networking equipment for free on ‘long term loan’. This kit is probably only available in perhaps one other HE networking laboratory in the UK. The loan will allow our students access to equipment that they would otherwise have no chance of using, and so further improve their employability.

Cisco Systems to help judge the Faculty of Computing, Engineering, and Technology’s Graduate Exhibition 

The Graduate Exhibition allows our final year students to showcase their individual project work to a large number of employers and organizations. Many get job offers as a result of the quality of work that they show. For some organizations, it has become a fixture in their Calendar. Cisco is a co-sponsor of the event this year and will be sending 4 staff members up to act as judges.