Today, USAID announced the delivery of much needed equipment donated by Cisco to support education in Ukraine, and help prepare the next generation of Ukrainian cybersecurity experts. USAID worked with Cisco and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to identify immediate equipment and training needs.
As part of its Country Digital Acceleration program, Cisco is equipping five instructional labs at Ukrainian universities with state-of-the-art Cisco telecommunications equipment to support the training of a new cadre of cybersecurity experts. To further support the development of Ukraine's digital workforce, almost 200 educational institutions have partnered with Cisco to provide digital skills training to 36,000 learners over the past academic year through the Cisco Networking Academy, one of the longest-standing IT skills-to-jobs programs in the world.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is also collaborating with Cisco to distribute wi-fi routers to 1,600 schools across the country in addition to 1,000 video camera kits for teachers forced to teach remotely due to unsafe conditions.
Putin's brutal war against Ukraine has created tremendous challenges for educators and students across the country. Thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed and, according to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 3.7 million people, including children, have been displaced from their homes. Although distance learning resumed two weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, many students struggle to access remote education options due to a shortage of devices and the Russian Federation's strikes against critical infrastructure. Higher education institutions have suffered similar challenges, with many forced to relocate to safer areas or transition to remote learning.
In addition to the newly-announced donation of Cisco networking equipment and cybersecurity training support, Cisco's ongoing support of Ukraine includes enabling Ukrainians displaced by the invasion to stay connected by providing secure wireless networks and cybersecurity support to the Government of Ukraine, providing over $20 million in cash and humanitarian assistance and product donations, growing Ukraine's digital workforce through Cisco Networking Academy training, defending Ukraine's critical infrastructure through the Cisco Talos threat intelligence team, and strengthening nationwide digitization efforts through the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration program.
Ukraine's burgeoning IT industry, which USAID has helped to foster, continues to register positive growth and is one of the most promising sectors for the country's economic recovery. At the same time, Ukraine has been the target of numerous, potentially devastating cyberattacks dating back years before the full scale invasion. USAID has been assisting Ukraine to shore up its cyber security safeguards, but a growing professional cybersecurity workforce will be vital to securing Ukraine's future.
USAID has previously facilitated the donation of laptops and software for Ukraine's schoolchildren and teachers by HP, Inc., JP.IK, and Microsoft. USAID also partners with the private sector to support Ukrainian grain production and export, and thus far has mobilized over $250 million in private sector partnerships to support Ukraine, including investments by Bayer in seed production, and Kernel and Nibulon in port expansion.
