This post was written by guest blogger Tracy Granlund, a project manager with the Networking Academy Student Advocacy Team
Earlier this year, we had the privilege of hosting the 19 winners from the 2013 Cisco Networking Academy International NetRiders competitions on a week-long study trip to Cisco's headquarters in San Jose, California.
What is NetRiders? These competitions are open to students currently or recently enrolled in a Cisco Networking Academy course. Through them, students learn valuable networking and IT skills through a series of online exams and simulation activities.
During the week-long study trip, some of the winners shared their thoughts on Cisco Networking Academy and the NetRiders competitions in the Cisco TV studio.
Cisco Networking Academy prepares people in 170 countries to design, build, maintain, and secure computer networks, the backbone of today's economy. Since 1997, more than 5 million people worldwide have participated in the program.
NetRiders Skills Competitions are a great way for Cisco Networking Academy students to test their networking and IT skills. We are starting to schedule national competitions for 2014, and we encourage Cisco Networking Academy students and instructors to check the page for their region on www.academynetriders.com over the coming months as we add more dates and countries.
All participating countries host a Cisco CCNA competition geared toward CCNA Routing and Switching certification. In addition, some countries also hold a Cisco CCENT and/or a Cisco IT Essentials competition. The competitions are composed of online exams that normally take place in one or two rounds and are normally proctored by a Cisco Networking Academy instructor. Each round includes a theoretical exam and a practical exam utilizing Cisco Packet Tracer, a simulation program, to resolve a networking dilemma.
Over the years, many NetRiders competitors have shared how their participation has helped them prepare for certification exams, challenge themselves, and get jobs. Some of those stories can be found on the NetRiders Champions page or on the I Got a Job page on our NetAcad Advantage site.
We asked some of our 2013 winners to share their advice to other students who are considering participating in NetRiders this year. Here is what they said:
So, what are you waiting for? In 2013, we ran NetRiders competitions in 97 countries. Do you have what it takes to compete? Are you ready to challenge yourself? If so, we may be welcoming you to Cisco headquarters in January 2015 as one of the 2014 International NetRiders CCNA Skills Competition winners.
Find out more about Cisco Networking Academy's 2014 NetRiders Competitions.