On July 28^th 2010, two instructors from Hisham Hijjawi College of Technology in Nablus, Engineer Muhammad Zahlan and Engineer Muniof Qaffaf, obtained the CCNA Security Trainer Certificate after participating in an intensive training course that involved an international test which was held at the CISCO Regional Academy training center at the Lebanese American University in Lebanon.

 

The course included training on a number of topics in the area of computer security networks, security laws that are followed in different countries of the world regarding computer networks, protection against piracy and hacking, establishing connections between local networks securely through the internet (VPN Security), designing and building firewalls for Cisco systems, building networks administration and control systems, building, SSDS, VLAN Security and others. Those fields greatly needed by the Palestinian market and there are few specialists in this field, therefore, the aim of this course was to equip the participants with the skills they need to develop their experience in the field of computer networks security. This will provide local communication and information technology institutions and companies with qualified experts who will be able to develop the information technology sector in the country further.

 

Mr. Naser Aloul, Secretary General at Hijjawi College, said that such course will enable the participants to employ the skills they acquired during their training to further develop their experience in using security systems and thus improve security measures among users of Cisco systems in Palestine. He also emphasized that the College's policy has always been to stay up-to-date with the latest technological developments so as to continuously update the Palestinian experts' skills. Such training contributes to the development of the Palestinian human resources which will eventually reflect positive impact on the development of the technology sector in the country as a whole.

 

CISCO was first established in 2009 at Hijjawi College as a result of a partnership between the College and the United States Agency for International Development USAID, the Save the Children Institution and the Mercy Corps in Palestine. On their part, engineers, Zahlan and Qaffaf, stated that their participation in the Cisco training course has been of great importance and mentioned that they have acquired substantial skills and experience in dealing with security systems. They also expressed their readiness to transfer what they have learned during the course to others who work in the information technology sector in Palestine.