LPI Develops Partner Program for Schools in Portugal (Sacramento, CA, USA: July 9, 2009) The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), the world's premier Linux certification organization (http://www.lpi.org), announced results of their initial pilot program promoting ICT academies within the secondary school system in Portugal. The ICT Academies program is part of the “Technological Plan for Education” promoted by the Portuguese Ministry of Education. As part of this initiative, LPI-Portugal (http://www.lpi.com.pt/) will be certifying 10 instructors in 5 secondary schools, to provide Linux education and training towards the Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC) through LPI's Approved Academic Program (LPI-AAP). The ICT Academy program is expected to grow to include 30 secondary schools in Portugal in 2010.
"The demand for trained LPI personnel in secondary school markets is a growing global phenomenon. The next generation of IT professionals will need to be able to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in Linux as Open Source software becomes more established in the enterprise, the public sector and on Main Street. LPI assists in the development of the global workforce in this regard and we have actively sought opportunities to work with educational policy makers to ensure they have the proper standards in place," said Jim Lacey, President and CEO of the Linux Professional Institute. Mr. Lacey added that this cooperative work with public education officials has been an active agenda for LPI for several years in both Europe and Asia and is further demonstrated by the organization's recent participation in K-12 forums on Open Source education in North America. Diogo Rebelo, a representative of LPI-Portugal, noted that the importance of these new ICT academies went beyond the need to serve local labor markets to providing an important value-added to the larger community: "This program will not only allow both students and teachers to acquire and certify their expertise in Linux but also assist in the development and consolidation of Open Source technology throughout Portugal." Mr. Rebelo noted that the ICT Academy program also included such IT companies as Cisco, Apple, Oracle, Sun and Microsoft, and Caixa Mágica and Alinex (http://www.alinex.org)--two of Portugal's national Linux distributions. The Linux Professional Institute is globally supported by the IT industry, enterprise customers, community professionals, government entities and the educational community. LPI's certification program is supported by an affiliate network spanning five continents and is distributed worldwide in multiple languages in more than 7,000 testing locations. Since 1999, LPI has delivered close to 200,000 exams and over 65,000 LPIC certifications around the world. -30 - About the Linux Professional Institute: The Linux Professional Institute promotes and certifies essential skills on Linux and Open Source technologies through the global delivery of comprehensive, top-quality, vendor-independent exams. Established as an international non-profit organization in 1999 by the Linux community, the Linux Professional Institute continues to demonstrate recognized global leadership in the certification of Linux professionals. LPI advances the Linux and Open Source movement through strategic partners, sponsorships, innovative programs and community development activities. LPI's major financial sponsors are Platinum Sponsors IBM, Linux Journal, Linux Magazine, Novell, SGI, and TurboLinux as well as Gold Sponsors, HP and IDG. Media Contacts: Tiago Pereira Communication Consultant DRI / LPI Portugal Tel: +351 93 934 80 72 E-mail: [email protected] Scott Lamberton Director of Communications Linux Professional Institute Tel: +1-905-269-0862 Web: http://www.lpi.org Email: [email protected] _______________________________________________ Linux Professional Institute media mailing list Contact: Scott Lamberton, Director of Communications Email: [email protected] Telephone: +1-905-269-0862 To Subscribe or unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] with "media unsubsribe"; in the subject line or do so directly at: http://list.lpi.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/media _______________________________________________ lpi-announce mailing list [email protected] http://list.lpi.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lpi-announce
