Via Opens pc-1 ICT Education Centre

Via pc-1 Community Solution enables ICT training for disadvantaged youth and students in Vietnam's Northern Mountainous Area

Via Technologies, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, has opened the Via pc-1 ICT Centre at Vietnam's Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, a digital facility that will serve both the local youth community and the university faculty in a practical approach to ICT training and skills enhancement that can be replicated at other academic institutions.

Powered by a balance of PCs, clients and server, the Via pc-1 Centre will act a showcase of how Via pc-1 Community Solutions can harness the power of computing for education.

Located in the poorer Northern Mountainous Area of Vietnam, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) is strategically important as a learning centre in the region, with specialized knowledge of local education requirements as well as the experienced training resources vital for the success of this ICT for Development (ICT4D) project in local community development.

"We are proud to be working with an experienced institution like TUAF, and are confident that the Via pc-1 ICT Centre will become a blueprint for ICT education and community development in Vietnam and far beyond," said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, Via Technologies "TUAF is pioneering ICT training within an academic institution in emerging regions, and Via's flexible and extremely power-efficient pc-1 systems form the ideal foundation for such digital learning centres." "TUAF and Via believe that community development through ICT requires specialized know-how and specialized technology, and both elements come together in this Via pc-1 ICT Centre," said Professor Doctor Dang Kim Vui, Rector of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Thai Nguyen City, Vietnam.

"This collaboration will enable us to effectively outreach to the local youth population as well as further prepare our students to function effectively in an information society, which is essential to avoid Vietnam being left behind in the global development race." Leading proponent of ICT for education, Cornell University of the US has worked with TUAF in spearheading this ICT for Development (ICT4D) program aimed at disseminating the benefits of ICT training among the local community.

"TUAF is taking a major step to demonstrate to international agencies and to other countries how higher education can play a vital role in bringing information and communication services to rural populations," said Dr Royal Colle, Professor Emeritus, Cornell University, USA.

"Up to now, most information technology projects have overlooked or ignored educational institutions as partners".

"In supporting this initiative, Via and the ADOC program have given a vote of confidence to the idea that universities - as society's key knowledge institutions - can make computers, networks, and data relevant and beneficial to many thousands of people in the Northern Mountainous Area." Recognizing the significant contribution that TUAF can make to alleViating the high unemployment in the region and raising the e-readiness of the community, the APEC Digital Opportunity Centre (ADOC) agreed to support the ICT4D program in late 2005, and enlisted Via within the ICT Alliance to support.

The Via pc-1 ICT Centre is one of the two manifestations of this support at TUAF; ADOC will also open an "eSchool" to provide ICT training to local SMEs.

ADOC was established in 2004 to assist APEC member economies in building their ICT infrastructures through the generation of trade and investment by the industry, and the Institute for Information Industry (III) has the remit to execute their policies.

In May 2006, Via became the first local vendor to partner with ADOC, and the Via pc-1 ICT Centre at TUAF is the first active collaboration under the auspices of that ICT Alliance.

The Via pc-1 Community Solution deployed at the Via pc-1 ICT Centre comprises a ten-piece client/server configuration and ten Power Saving PCs to provide a flexible infrastructure for instructors in enabling centralized classroom-based teaching as well as individual learning opportunities.

Based on the highly efficient Via pc-1 processor platforms, Via pc-1 Community Solutions are designed to deliver the essential tools to facilitate education, develop new skill sets and enable individuals to learn and to contribute to the global online community; these systems can be installed in almost any environment, and can be powered by alternative energy sources such as solar power or car batteries.

"In providing a flexible, innovative approach to computing and communications systems, Via's pc-1 Community Solutions are a flexible, innovative approach to deploying the most appropriate technology in the variety of emerging market situations," continued Richard Brown of Via.

"Via pc-1 Community Solutions are designed to deliver the essential tools to facilitate education, develop new skill sets and enable individuals to learn and to contribute to both the local and the global communities.".

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