ESR School of Networks – a successful ICT training model

Over the last decade, ESR – Escola Superior de Redes (Superior School of Networks) has significantly contributed to the advancement of ICT across Brazil. An initiative of RNP (the Brazilian NREN), ESR offers courses to address issues in the areas of Management and Network Design, IT Governance, Security, Support to Digital Collaboration Media and System Administration.

This successful training model has now been rolled out to other countries in Latin America and further afield, where RNP partners up with the respective NREN to provide expertise and qualification.

Provider of knowledge

Ten years after its creation, RNP’s Networks School (Escola Superior de Redes – ESR) has established itself in the Brazilian market as a provider of knowledge and qualification.

The numbers emphasise the success: over 50 courses in seven areas of education, 15,000 professionals qualified in five regions of the country, eight units located in different Brazilian capitals: Brasília (Federal District), Belém (State of Pará), Cuiabá (State of Mato Grosso), João Pessoa (State of Paraíba), Porto Alegre (State of Rio Grande do Sul), Rio de Janeiro (State of Rio de Janeiro), Salvador (State of Bahia) and Manaus (State of Amazonas).

The work carried out is leaping across geographic barriers. In Africa, ESR created a qualification centre in the city of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, to offer training and bring the RNP’s expertise to the African continent. The action is included within the scope of the cooperation between RNP and the Mozambican academic network, MoRENet.

Advanced security skills

The first remote qualification programme for technicians of the universities of Mozambique took place at the end of September 2015 and focused on “Web Applications Invasion Testing”, a theme reflecting the need of advanced security skills.

In line with a ‘train the trainers’ approach, Mozambican specialists have been trained by ESR and are already giving network and system administration courses at São Tomás University of Mozambique.

In Colombia, it served as model for the creation of the Escuela Superior de Redes Colombia, founded in Bogotá, in partnership with Renata, the local NREN.

Recently, the academic coordinator of ESR’s IT Governance and Security department, Edson Kowask, visited the Colombian capital to deliver part of the “IT Governance Basics” course at the unit.

Giving support

“With MoRENet, our cooperation agreement is intended to provide support to the process of implementation and consolidation of the African network, by IT technical qualification and sharing of information and good practices in engineering, management and governance of advanced nation-wide networks,” ESR’s coordinator, Luiz Coelho, explains.

“With Renata, we are taking part in some courses in the IT Governance segment, with specialization in Government and Management and in Government and Security.”

With ten years of experience and a team specialized in modelling and meeting the demand for IT professionals’ qualification, ESR is also planning on building other qualification centres outside Brazil and entering into new partnerships in the future.

Its main clients currently include the Brazilian Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Education (MEC) and Health (MS), the Armed Forces and the Brazilian Judicial System.