'We'll be looking for more partnerships and get projects that are socially relevant to be able to bring IT education and bridge the digital divide in the country,' said Eric Sulit, marketing and channels manager of Cisco Systems Philippines.

Speaking at the IT exhibit 'Emerging Technologies for Philippines 2020' sponsored by De La Salle University's College of Computer Studies last April, Sulit reported that Cisco and the UNDP have brought their global collaboration on Internet education to the Philippines by deploying UNVs (United Nations Volunteers) in Luzon and Mindanao to widen the availability of the Cisco Networking Academy Program (CNAP) in the country.

Currently, there are UNVs working in other Asian countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, he said.

According to Sulit, the CNAP program is one of the most successful educational programs in the world, teaching students how to create and manage networks as well as Internet technology skills. The program is a nonprofit initiative that now caters to 1.6 million students worldwide consisting of 10,000 families and 13,000 instructors. The program is applied to 42 high schools in the Philippines today.