Cisco develops Victorian learning lab

Cisco, along with Microsoft and Intel, will be working with the Victorian Government over the next three years.

Les Williamson, vice president Cisco A/NZ said the Ideas Lab is part of a $2 billion education system upgrade.

“In its role as a technology Foundation Partner, Cisco will have the opportunity to be a key player in the overall direction of the project, including providing networking technologies,” he said.

According to Williamson, Unified Communications, video and mobility are the technologies Cisco will bring to the project.

"DEECD will work with Cisco to explore the possibility of deploying Cisco TelePresence and WebEx on the network, further driving collaboration and improved communication,” he said.

According to Wayne Craig, regional director at DEECD, education systems face the challenge of catering to an ever-evolving technology landscape.

“They must adapt to provide the necessary skills and education to students to enable them to successfully compete in the future economy,” said Craig.

A media spokesperson for Cisco told CRN that at this stage it is not known what part Cisco’s channel partners will play in helping to build ‘schools of the future’.

"Cisco is engaged for the long term on the Ideas Lab, a project which is likely to run over a number of years. As the project is only today being announced, we are not yet at the stage where we have engaged specific partners for it," said the spokesperson.