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SUN SPEARHEADS CENTRAL ASIA ICT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR WOMEN THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH TASHKENT UNIVERSITY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Partnership provides more than $200,000 worth of donations and support to students in the Central Asian region
Tashkent, UZBEKISTAN - November 12, 2004 - Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), in conjunction with network infrastructure integrator CA CHS, has announced a relationship with Tashkent University of Information and Technology (TUIT) to provide a series of hardware, software and training solutions which will allow an unlimited number of students, in all the Central Asia region, to benefit from Sun's technology. Sun has provided the technology as part of its education grants and donations program. The equipment will be used to create the Women's ICT Center, an ICT training facility especially aimed at women in the sector and female students, and to establish a central Distance Learning facility at the University which will accommodate students from Uzbekistan and neighbouring countries, assisting with ICT skills development using Sun's web-based and instructor-led courses.
The Women's ICT Center will be officially launched November 12, 2004 in ceremonies at the University.
The first stage of Sun's work with TUIT includes an Academic Excellence Grant of equipment to the University, which will train a special technological taskforce with SUN technologies and will prepare them for stage two of that project.
Stage one is fully funded by SUN as a donation to the TUIT Women's ICT Training Center.
Stage two of this project, will include a matching grant by Sun, which will donate goods of the equivalent value to those purchased by the Women's ICT Center at TUIT.
The University Center will also participate in the Sun Academic Initiative which offers free training courses to certify students with IT skills.
The second stage of the relationship will see the finalization of the Distance Learning center, along with the creation of three remote laboratories in Khiva, Buchara and Samarkand, open for further deployment of the same structure of labs all around the Central Asia region.
"The training center at the University will facilitate the development of key ICT skills and telecommunications expertise amongst women in the telecommunications and IT sectors, and for our students, with a particular focus on female candidates, that will provide them with employment opportunities in the future" said Kasimov Sadikdjan Sabirovich, Rector at TUIT "Once well-established, the center will also offer opportunities for eLearning that will give thousands of students across the entire central Asia region access to courses and the training materials they need to create marketable skills."
Todd Korth, Regional Director,, Education and Research EMEA, Sun Microsystems, said: "The creation of the Women's ICT Center at Tashkent University of Information Technologies is a significant undertaking that will deliver benefits to the Central Asian community as a whole by creating skilled ICT professionals who contribute to the economy of this emerging region. Sun embraces developing countries and continues to demonstrate its commitment to enabling ICT skills capacity building through ongoing programs, donations and grants to institutions responsible for the development of future workforces."
This Center was designed and developed by Telecom/Telematique Inc. of Washington, D.C. under a grant for the Feasibility Study from U.S. Trade and Development Agency to the Agency for Communications and Informatization of Uzbekistan.
Sun initiatives at the Tashkent University of Information Technology:
Sun Academic Excellence Grants
Sun's Academic Excellence Grant program grants equipment to eligible organizations who have developed creative projects that both address Sun's investment priorities and creative partnerships for success.
Sun Matching Grant Program
The Sun Matching Grant Program is a co-investment program whereby Sun donates equipment with a similar investment from the educational institution or partnering Aid organization.
Sun Academic Initiative
The Sun Academic Initiative is a program designed to create a collaborative relationship between Sun and academic institutions. Courses delivered through this program will introduce students to Sun Microsystems Technologies, including Java, to prepare them for industry-leading certification and equip them with marketable ICT job skills.
EduSoft Academic Edition
EduSoft Academic Edition offers institutions a comprehensive set of more than 100 tools to be used in classroom assignments, such as projects and tutorials, any form of academic research activity and for pilots, testing and evaluation of software development.
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