M’sia gets first CCNP instructor trainer

A TUNKU Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) academic is the first Malaysian to receive the Cisco Instructor Trainer Qualification (ITQ).

The specialist qualification from Cisco Networking Academy means that Carolyn Ting Hie Choon (pic) from the the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology is now a Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP).

She is qualified to train instructors from across all networking academies in Malaysia, as well as countries in the Asia-Pacific region, so that they can offer CCNP courses in their own institutions of higher learning.

Currently, TAR UC’s diploma and bachelor’s degree syllabi in ICT prepare students to undertake the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) qualification.

The CCNA qualification is a fundamental requirement for jobs such as network engineer, system support engineer, helpdesk engineer, network administrator and IT support engineer.

The next step forward for TAR UC graduates with the CCNA qualification is to pursue CCNP courses and with Ting’s recent recognition as a CCNP instructor trainer, they can do so at TAR UC.

“Many of my students who completed their degrees at TAR UC have joined the workforce as IT support and even managers and they are doing well.

“However, as the IT industry is continuously evolving, it is important for them to continue upskilling themselves to progress in their careers.

“This is one of the reasons why I decided to pursue the ITQ. I wanted to help my students to progress and attain the next certification after CCNA where they can learn advanced networking skills to become SD-WAN provisioning engineers, network support consultants, network security engineers and technical team leads.

“My achievement will also help clear up the misconception that the CCNP certification is very difficult to obtain because if I can do it, so can my students,” she said.

With the ITQ, Ting can also conduct CCNP courses as a standalone programme using teaching materials provided by Cisco.

This, she said, will enhance students’ understanding of the programme.

With this latest certification, TAR UC – which has a close collaboration with Cisco that spans over 15 years – is now listed in the Cisco Networking Academy’s website as one of the institutions offering CCNP courses.

This synergistic partnership has produced many students with sound knowledge and skills in the field.

Over the years, TAR UC has taken part in the various competitions organised by Cisco at national and regional levels such as the NetRiders Challenge Malaysia, the Packet Tracer Competition, and the Asia Pacific NetRiders Competition where TAR UC was often ranked in the top three.