2023-April-19

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Hwaiting 화이팅. Tak Trzymaj. Keep it up, Cisco.

BY KRYSTAL CHENG · GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS · UNITED STATES

WITH HYODON YOON, DK KIM, & ANNA CZACHAROWSKA-RYBKOWSKA

4 MINUTE READ · 7 MINUTE LISTEN

Cisco, hwaiting (화이팅)!

This Korean phrase loosely translates to “Go get it!”

Just like in English, hwaiting is used as a cheer to show encouragement and support for others.

So, what better occasion to say “hwaiting” than for Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program? To date, CDA has reached 50 countries, empowering people with the skills and tech needed to thrive in our digital world.

Two of those countries include South Korea and Poland, where CDA has made its mark on several sectors — especially education.

We sat down with CDA Program Manager Hyodon Yoon and CSR Manager Anna Czacharowska-Rybkowska, who gave us the scoop on how the program provides learning opportunities in universities.

Hyodon Yoon: Digitizing educational institutions in South Korea

In 2020, when COVID-19 broke out, South Korea was hit very fast.

Several universities reached out to Cisco for urgent help. They needed to educate students who couldn't attend in-person classes. We provided Webex, enabling them to transition to a hybrid class system.

We offered the Webex license for free to 655 high schools through Sungkyunkwan University, which allowed them to offer counseling and remote classes.

Dongguk University also deployed Webex for remote classes. Within two weeks of the semester, all lectures had been replaced with real-time, remote classes. Hanyang Cyber University also integrated Webex into its Learning Management System to support remote learning with high-quality multimedia classes for over 17,000 students.

Three years later, these universities still use our systems.

We also continue to support the Cisco Networking Academy, which has had more than 62,000 students in Korea since 1999. Networking Academy looks at people’s talent and potential, especially young ones who are being left behind. We want to help the ecosystem from the bottom. This is what we believe in.

That's why we're proud that from 2021 to 2022, the number of Networking Academy students enrolled in Korea grew from 3,700 to more than 6,300. We also offered education for instructors across 53 institutions, including high schools, colleges, and universities.

As IT talent shortages continue to grow worldwide, the South Korean government aims to nurture one million digital talents by 2026.

Many tech companies are focused on their investments and sales. But through CDA, Cisco focuses on improving quality of life through our technology. We’re part of an organization that actively invests in inclusivity and positive impact.

That is not only good for Cisco in commercial terms but also makes a vital social impact. We’re achieving what Cisco really believes in.

Anna Czacharowska-Rybkowska: Empowering Ukrainian refugees in Poland

As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, millions of Ukrainian civilians were forced to flee to other countries. In Poland, we opened our hearts and homes to host Ukrainian refugees to help them establish a new life.

Cisco has been committed to helping Ukraine since the start of the war. But after supplying newcomers with humanitarian aid, we wanted to offer a program supporting them long-term. And that’s how the idea for the Start IT Cisco4Ukraine project sparked.

Beginning in February 2023, Cisco CDA teamed up with a long-standing Cisco Networking Academy partner in Poland, the University of IT and Management in Rzeszów, to provide Ukrainians with IT education to build their digital skills and employability.

The program is geared toward every Ukrainian refugee regardless of age, background, and location. Since our launch, we’re proud to have more than 5,000 learners registered for courses!

Many are women in the middle of their careers interested in learning essential digital skills or reskilling to get a foothold in tech.

This initiative equips learners with digital skills that help them look for jobs — here in Poland, other European countries, or even back in Ukraine if the situation allows for their safe return.

As many learners do not speak English or Polish, our program offers online classes led by Ukrainian-speaking instructors, many of whom also fled to Poland.

Many Ukrainian-speaking colleagues from the Cisco CX Center have also supported our program by offering mentoring and career counseling sessions to the learners so that they can benefit from direct contact with employees in their local language.

Start IT Cisco4Ukraine offers an opportunity to learn new tech skills, reskill, upskill, and prepare for the first tech jobs while empowering learners and creates a pipeline of talent who want to achieve more.

We’re opening a world of opportunity for our Ukrainian guests.

Tak trzymaj, Cisco.

This Polish phrase is a cheer that means “Keep it up!” Which is exactly what Cisco is doing in education, sustainability, security, and more.

CDA continues to collaborate with governments around the world to digitize communities with our technology.

Stay tuned for more on CDA. There are only more exciting projects to come. 

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Related Links

• Our Impact - CSR & Time2Give
• Careers at Cisco
• Cisco Launches Digitization Program in South Korea
• Standing With Ukraine — One Year Later
• [Video] Start IT Cisco4Ukraine Program

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