Aruba Networks’ New Mobility Academy Prepares Students
for the Mobility Requirements of Tomorrow
World’s First Mobility-Specific Higher Education Program Provides Future IT Leaders
with the Tools to Support #GenMobile in the All-Wireless Workplace
Aruba Networks, Inc. today announced it is educating the IT leaders of tomorrow with the world’s first mobility-specific education program designed for colleges and universities. The new Aruba Mobility Academy provides students with the fundamentals required to build, maintain and advance wireless LAN networks. Years of wireless training experiences and materials were used to create unique, for credit semester-long courses that can be directly integrated into higher education programs.
Aruba Mobility Academy is a global program with its first wave of participation at Texas A&M University, Tafe South Australia and Princess Sumaya University in Jordan. Due to the demand from initial courses at these participating schools, Aruba is working with dozens of colleges and universities worldwide to bring Aruba Mobility Academy to more students.
Prior to the Aruba Mobility Academy curriculum, higher education programs covered general networking topics with no specific focus on the type of networking technology. Since Wi-Fi is now the connectivity medium of choice with wireless traffic expected to exceed wired traffic by the end of 2015, it is becoming crucial for students to gain knowledge and real-world experience with mobility technology to better prepare for #GenMobile in the all-wireless workplace.
According to Greg Lynch, Networking Lecturer for TAFE SA (Technical and Further Education South Australia), the largest education and training provider in Australia, “Since wireless is one of the fastest growing technologies in networking, adding a course specific to Wi-Fi implementation was imperative to prepare our students for real-world networking careers. The Aruba Mobility Academy provides our students with a strong foundation in WLAN technologies and, due to its lab-intensive approach, gives our students the practical experience required for understanding wireless networking and the challenges associated with mobile devices.”
“The addition of a wireless-specific networking course was a critical ingredient in my Advanced Diploma program,” said Daryl Maslin, TAFE SA student and Systems Engineer, Logic Plus. “Completing the Aruba Mobility Academy has helped me gain a stronger foundation to build and secure wireless LAN networks, which has given me a competitive edge in my career as a Systems Engineer.”
The Aruba Mobility Academy foundation-level course is a combination of lectures and labs that covers the basics of wireless LAN solutions, including 802.11 Wi-Fi standards, network mobility architecture, and wireless LAN configuration. The lab-intensive aspect of the curriculum provides students with the skills and practical experience necessary to setup and configure a wireless LAN, as well as fine-tune the wireless infrastructure for mobile devices.
Upon completion of the course, Aruba Mobility Academy students will have the technical understanding and hands-on experience to configure a wireless LAN with mobility controllers and access points. Additionally, Aruba Mobility Academy courses cover common Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) networking challenges, with a focus on Wi-Fi fundamentals, spectrum analysis, wireless LAN design, Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) configuration for 802.1X and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) authentication, and mobile device provisioning for employees and guests.
Located in College Station, Texas A&M is home to more than 50,000 students making it the sixth-largest college in the United States. Dr. Ana Goulart teaches networking courses at the university and has integrated segments of the Aruba Mobility Academy into three of her courses with plans to expand to more courses this summer and fall. “We live in a world where we are increasingly relying on wireless technology to live and work, so it’s important to make sure our students have the opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of building and operating wireless networks,” said Dr. Goulart, associate professor, Electronic Systems Engineering Technology, Texas A&M. “With the Aruba Mobility Academy curriculum, including hands-on lab lessons, students gain a pragmatic understanding of Wi-Fi and learn how to keep the network secure while providing access to a variety of wireless and mobile devices.”
Additional Resources
· Aruba Mobile Academy Overview: http://www.arubanetworks.com/resources/training/aruba-mobility-academy/
· The All-Wireless Workplace Designed for #GenMobile: http://www.arubanetworks.com/allwireless
· Report: Are you ready for #GenMobile? www.arubanetworks.com/genmobile
· Airheads Social: http://community.arubanetworks.com/
· Social Media Channels: http://www.arubanetworks.com/company/socialmedia/
