Voices Magazine-Issue

23 February 2018 | VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica Cisco Donates Wireless Equipment and Training Professor Colin Gyles, (2nd left) Deputy President, University of Technology, Jamaica accepts one of the ten donated Wireless Access Points devices from Mr. Jan Martinez (centre), Cisco Virtual Sales Account Manager for Jamaica at a special ceremony held at the University’s Papine Campus on February 1, 2018. Sharing in the occasion (from left) are Mr Garfield Gordon, Senior Systems Engineering, Cisco Caribbean, Mrs. Elmarine Jiminez, Manager, Network & Operating Systems Services, UTech, Jamaica and Mr. Hugh Brown, Senior Director, Technology and Information Management, UTech, Jamaica. T he University of Technology, Jamaica has received a significant boost to its wireless network infrastructure with the Cisco donation of ten new Wireless Access Points with one year technical support valued at $890,000. The equipment was officially presented at a special handing over ceremony held at the University’s Papine Campus on Thursday, February 1, 2018. Cisco, one of the world’s leading ICT supply companies, has also pledged to provide opportunities for training of UTech, Jamaica IT personnel who will receive passes valued at $650,000 to attend the Cisco Live Full Conference in Orlando, Florida from June 10-14, 2018, bringing the total value of the company’s donation to over $1.5 million. In welcoming the valuable donation, Prof. Colin Gyles, Deputy President thanked Cisco for its generosity, noting that “wireless is a necessity in modern life and especially in an academic environment,” where there is the need for fast and immediate access to information. In his remarks, Mr. Brown reiterated appreciation to Cisco for the kind donation of equipment and opportunities for staff development and training. He noted that the University has had a longstanding, productive partnership with Cisco over the years, with much of the University’s IT infrastructure consisting of Cisco equipment. The Cisco team was represented by Mr Garfield Gordon, Senior Systems Engineering, Cisco Caribbean and Mr. Jan Martinez, Virtual Sales Account Manager for Jamaica. Gordon gave a presentation on opportunities for further partnership with the University through various Cisco technology solutions and products that can be utilized to enhance academic delivery and research in ICT.