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Netacad Portfolio Updates 2025

Learning Portfolio Overview April 2025
For a complete overview and course descriptions, click here: hyperlink

Program Updates May 2025: hyperlink

Datacenter production gets automated

Is Automation Bad for Jobs ?

Experimental datacenter

The phrase "Datacenter production gets automated" (1) does not mean that all work related to hardware, configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting is eliminated. Instead, it means that many repetitive or manual tasks are being automated — but human involvement is still essential, especially for complex, exception-driven, or strategic tasks.

CCNA Automation: Starting Point for Cloud and Infrastructure Professionals

CCNA Automation Is the Ideal Starting Point for Cloud and Infrastructure Professionals

As cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices continue to reshape the IT landscape, professionals are expected to go far beyond traditional roles. Today’s engineers need hands-on skills in automation, orchestration, and infrastructure-as-code to stay relevant in hybrid and cloud-native environments.

Cisco’s new CCNA Automation certification is rapidly emerging as a top-tier entry point for those aiming to specialize in cloud infrastructure, NetDevOps, and network automation.

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✅ What You'll Learn

The certification builds a solid foundation in both network automation and modern DevOps tooling, including:

• Python scripting

• REST APIs (using tools like Postman or curl)

• Ansible for configuration management

• Git and version control

• JSON and YAML data formats

• CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment) concepts

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles

• Network programmability (NETCONF/YANG, RESTCONF)

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🔍 Focus Areas of CCNA Automation

Feature	CCNA Automation
Target Audience	Network engineers moving into automation
Core Focus	Practical network automation, DevOps for infrastructure
Cisco Tooling	Light or no focus on Cisco SDKs
Programming Depth	Basic to intermediate Python
Cloud Relevance	Strong emphasis on Ansible, APIs, and IaC
Lab Orientation	Task-based, config/deploy driven

 

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In short: CCNA Automation is a powerful and future-proof foundation for any IT professional seeking to thrive in the world of programmable infrastructure and cloud-native operations.

BiASC Seven Key Focus Areas Looking Forward

BiASC focuses on seven strategic priorities to advance ICT education and foster meaningful learning experiences at all levels.

1. Inspire and support educators and institutions to improve the way people learn
2. Collaborate with schools and training centers to effectively integrate intelligent online learning resources
3. Design, adapt, and integrate high-quality interactive instructional materials that engage instructors and motivate learners
4. Work alongside educators and industry partners to deliver high-quality, practice-oriented education
5. Build and sustain strong networks within the education sector and with relevant external stakeholders
6. Actively engage at the international level to both contribute to and learn from global educational innovation
7. Support a broad spectrum of educational levels: higher education, adult education, and secondary education

Belgian NetAcad Day 23 May 2025 - Pics and Presentations

Pictures

• Pictures of the event: Hyperlink

LinkedIn

• Belgian NetAcad Day 2025: Hyperlink

Presentations

• T. Cordemans, Bootcamp Wireshark, URL: Hyperlink
• T. Cordemans, Extending your lab infrastructure with Cisco Modeling Labs (CML), URL: Hyperlink
• T. Cordemans, IT/OT Convergence: Unlocking Potential, Mitigating Risk, URL: Hyperlink
• P. de Fooz, How to Step into Cloud Computing with a Networking Background, URL: Hyperlink
• A. Leblois, A few Thoughts on Where we Are, URL: Hyperlink
• R. Martinez, Exploring Platform Functionalities, URL: Hyperlink
• R. Martinez, NetAcad Course Portfolio & Learning Paths, URL: Hyperlink
• Y. Rooseleer, The Status of NetAcad in Belgium, URL: Hyperlink

• More to follow ...

 

Erasmus+ Project – XT_AI Model

Erasmus+ Project – XT_AI Model
KA220-HED – Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education (2025)
✳ Modernising Teaching at EQF Levels 5 and 6
📍 Partner institutions from Belgium, Italy, France, Greece, and Spain

CEDEFOP: European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training
VET: Vocational Education and Training
Target group: Teachers and training designers working on EQF level 5 and 6 programmes

Project Objectives

• Modernise education at EQF levels 5 and 6

• Promote innovative teaching and learning practices

• Support digital transformation by:

  • Enhancing digital readiness

  • Building institutional resilience and capacity

• Integrate artificial intelligence (AI) across all phases of teaching

Starting with IT teachers to establish a solid foundation

 

BiASC Visual Dashboard - May 2025

Click on the image to enlarge

Insights into Cisco Networking Academies in Belgium

The dashboard provides an overview of: the distribution of academies by region, language, and education level.

Save the Date: Belgian NetAcad Instructor Day – May 23, 2025

📅 Save the Date: Belgian NetAcad Instructor Day – May 23

On Friday, May 23, we are organizing the Belgian NetAcad Instructor Day – an opportunity to explore the latest developments in IT education, AI, cybersecurity and networking technologies.

📍 Venue: Cisco Office, De Kleetlaan 6, 1831 Machelen
The event is completely free to attend. Use the hyperlink below to register.
📝 Online Registration: hyperlink

💡 Topics Include:
🔹 NetAcad Platform Evolution
🔹 Workshops & Best Practices
🔹 Introductions & Deep Dives
🔹 National & International Projects
🔹 NetAcad Evolution & Collaboration
🔹 Cisco Live 2025 & 2026

⚠ Important Notes:
✅ The event is completely free to attend. Use the hyperlink below to register.
📝 Online Registration: hyperlink
✅ Sessions may be conducted in Dutch, English, and French.
✅ If there are enough participants, sessions will be offered in different languages.

📩 Contact: [email protected]

🗓 Make sure to block May 23 in your agenda! More details will follow soon.

CISCOLIVE 2025 NETACAD DAY

I’m excited to share that BiASC had the privilege of participating with thirty instructors from Belgium at CiscoLive NetAcad Day in Amsterdam!

 

Our organization was represented by four outstanding speakers, and it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with both instructors and alumni students from our academies. It’s truly inspiring to see them excelling in challenging roles across IT infrastructure, networks, and cybersecurity.

 

A special shout-out to one of our alumni, who was part of the Cisco team responsible for creating the IT infrastructure for the entire CiscoLive conference. It’s incredibly rewarding to witness the growth of our students and the significant impact they are making in the industry!

 

#CiscoLive #NetAcad #IT #Cybersecurity #Alumni #BiASC #Networking #TechTalent

 

CISCO LIVE 2025

NetAcad Day

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New from Cisco NetAcad: Create Digital Content, Communicate and Collaborate Online

Cisco NetAcad and OpenEDG introduce a self-paced, remote course to enhance digital collaboration.

With remote work growing, especially in tech, this course prepares you for hybrid environments. Learn to create and manage digital content, master email etiquette, and collaborate using tools like Webex, Discord, Asana, and Trello.

The course includes 23 videos, 9 problem-solving scenarios, and 5 interactive activities to sharpen your skills. This course is oriented at all future business professionals.

Start now and boost your digital collaboration: Hyperlink!

 

NetAcad Online Instructor Training 2025

If you are interested in becoming accredited as a Networking Academy instructor, BiASC is offering the following instructor accreditation courses in the second semester of the 2024-2025 academic year:

• CCNA 2: Switching, Routing & Wireless | Start Date: Tue, March 4, 2025, at 18:30
• Cybersecurity Operations | Start Date: Tue, March 4, 2025, at 19:00
• Ethical Hacker | Start Date: Tue, March 4, 2025, at 19:00
• DevNet Associate: Network Programmability, Infrastructure Automation, Cloud | Start Date: Tue, March 4, 2025, at 19:30

All courses are conducted online and will begin in the first week of March 2025. They will run for 8 to 10 weeks, with potential breaks due to holidays.

If you have previously enrolled, please confirm your participation by submitting the enrollment form again.

Click here to enroll for instructor training

This instructor training is offered by the Belgian Instructor Training Center (BiASC) and the Dutch ITC with FAST LANE/ SLB Diensten.

Belgian Green Team winning European CyberRace 2024 Capture the Flag Final

BiASC is delighted with the Belgian winners of the 2024 European CyberRace, the Green Team from the Belgian Defence ICT Academy.

Three Belgian teams made it to the final event:

• Haute École de Namur-Liège-Luxembourg, Henallux
• Vives Hogeschool
• Belgian Defence ICT Academy

Complete Video
URL : hyperlink

Ready to switch to 2025

BiASC Focus for 2025: Informing and Supporting Networking Academies in Belgium

Ongoing Support for the New NetAcad Platform
Over the past months, BiASC has engaged with numerous instructors in effectively using the new NetAcad platform. Overall, the new platform has proven to perform better than its predecessor. If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Continuing Instructor Training: Online and In-Person
A new series of instructor training sessions will begin in March 2025. Each training will consist of 8 to 12 sessions, typically held in the evening. The primary goal of these sessions is to achieve official accreditation. Topics for the second semester include:

-CCNA Routing, Switching, and Wireless
-Ethical Hacker
-CyberSecurity Associate
-DevNet

For more details, click here

Cisco Live Conference – NetAcad Day: 13 February 2025
All Belgian NetAcad instructors are invited to attend the NetAcad Day at Cisco Live on 13 February 2025. If you haven’t registered yet but would like to join, please inform us as soon as possible.

Belgian NetAcad Day 2025
The Belgian NetAcad Day for 2025 will be held in late April or May. We are currently finalizing the event details and will provide more information after the Cisco Live event.

Industrial Certification Exams
BiASC will proctor industrial certification exams designed to address real-world problems and meet current labor market demands. In addition to Pearson Vue, BiASC also proctors Cisco Certiport exams. As a special incentive, BiASC is providing two free certification exams for promising students from your Academy. Priority will be given to students who have shown their preparedness by securing an exam voucher through NetAcad. Please note that the free certification exams are available for a limited time. For more details about Pearson Vue Exam Proctoring, click here.

Contact: <[email protected]>

New free version of Cisco Modelling Labs (CML) for Cisco Networking Academies

Happy to learn that Cisco Networking Academies will be entitled to a free version of Cisco Modelling Labs. Although there are limits, there is enough to experiment for creative networkers. The free copy will be available on 10 December.

Features
Cisco Modeling Labs Free offer access to a total of five (5) nodes at any given time along with the latest features such as smart annotations, NGFW enablement, custom MAC address, LDAP improvements, and more.

· IOLv, IOLvL2, ASAv and host reference platforms can be turned on
· Access Ubuntu, Server, Desktop, Alpine
· Please note: All of the above reference platforms count against the 5-node limit
· Unmanaged switch - does not count against the 5-node limit
· Use of the external connector is allowed - externally connected devices do not count against the 5-node limit
· No time limitation or expiry date - you have access to Cisco Modeling Labs free tier for as long as you want!

Echo Rantanen 23/11/2024 3:08

More information about the free CML with max 5 devices: Hyperlink

 

New NetAcad Platform Support

At the end of August 2024 to new NetAcad platform came online. This blog message lists some of the issues that instructors are encountering. Last update: 29 October 2024

Tip - Platform Orientation for Educators 
When working with a new software environment, it's beneficial to read the *** manual. For the new NetAcad platform, it's crucial to explore the video guide.

Platform Orientation Video for Instructors => managing the new platform: hyperlink (login required)

Issue 1 - Link existing Webex account to your NetAcad account
Instructors who were already using Webex before August 2024 should link their Webex Account to the NetAcad account. For some reason this is not an automatic process. This hyperlink shows the steps how to perform the linking of the two accounts.

Issue 2 - Class with invitation only
The Invitation Only option will allow only learners with class invitation to enroll. Your class enrollment page will still be public, but non-invited email addresses are prevented from joining the class. The instructor needs to define which students will get access by using a CSV file. After giving access to students, you can check the the Manage Leaners page. 

Issue 3 - Self-Paced Class
In a self-paced class the instructor has no possibilities to manage assignments or course content. If possible, as an instructor use the instructed-led approach. Nevertheless there exist courses that only work self-paced.

Issue 4 - Class Completed

If an instructor just marked as completed students within the gradebook (it is not required by all courses), the course itself should still appear in the students' homepage. If the instructor flagged the course as completed, students should see it in the "completed" course tab (instead of the default "in progress" tab)

Issue 5 - Packet Tracer Login
There is currently an issue logging into Cisco Packet Tracer using the NetAcad login button. Please have users click on the Skills for All login button to access Cisco Packet Tracer. The new version of Packet Tracer later this year will eliminate this issue.

More info -- Students cannot launch PT, even with Skills-for-All login
Hello again! OK, I think I've figured out the issue. The PT login button for Networking Academy apparently loads the wrong URL, or the URL it is loading is being redirected to the Legacy Netacad main page. If the student logs in using their Legacy Netacad login, they are presented with their course dashboard and no message goes back to PT. When the student closes the browser, they are back at the PT login screen.

This is different than what happens with the Skills-for-All button. When the student clicks the Skills-for-All button, it takes them to https://auth.netacad.com/auth/realms/skillsforall/protocol/openid-connect/auth?client_id=02159bbb62514124&openid=&response_type=code&state=R0gnhDio and gives them a login box. If they login, a tab opens in their default browser that says "You have successfully logged in to Cisco Packet Tracer. You may close this tab. Definitely different behavior.

Issue 6 - The Edge browser is reported to have problems in the new environment (login "Remember Me", playing animations, ...)
Edge is a supported browser, so please create support cases for the issues you've encountered so that we can address them. That said Edge is one of the less popular of the supported browsers and not as fully broken in. In the meantime, I recommend using Chrome or FireFox (latest two software versions) for the best experience on the converged NetAcad.

Issue 7 - NDG Integration for Linux courses
Both instructors and students need a separate NDG Account and have to log into NDG. The process is explained when you create an NDG course.
Do not activate or enroll in exams from the NDG environment.
Read the presentation, URL: Download Linux Activation Issues

Issue 8 - LTI Integration with other learning platforms
LTI is currently not available on the new NetAcad.com. The new NetAcad environment was built from the ground up and will be able to support LTI in the future.

More to follow ...

European Cyberrace 2024

European Cybersecurity Competition
Updated: 10 October 2024, 5 November 2024
The Learn-A-Thon is open to NetAcad Academies in the European Union and many more countries who can host the event over a six-week period virtually or on campus.
The winning student teams will be invited for a McLaren Racing  company visit.

Registration for CyberRace 2024 is open until November 8.

• Participants are students of all ages who are learning through the Cybersecurity Essentials content.
• Speed is essential. Students can attempt the final exams immediately if they feel prepared to pass.
• Students who successfully complete the Cybersecurity Pathway again will receive the maximum bonus points.
• The goal is to qualify for the second round, a Capture the Flag challenge.
  
  Register: Hyperlink

CyberOps Certification Update

Effective January 21, 2025, Cisco CyberOps certification names will be updated to Cisco Cybersecurity certifications and will include new AI-related exam topics. With the help of predictive AI in the Cybersecurity Associate as well as, AI-powered, and AI-driven analysis in Cybersecurity Professional certifications, you can prepare yourself for the latest in AI-driven Cybersecurity trends and job roles.

Exam names and numbers will remain the same, but version numbers will change:

• CyberOps Associate 200-201 CBROPS v1.1 will update to v1.2.
• CyberOps Professional 350-201 CBRCOR v1.1 and 300-215 CBRFIR v1.1 will both update to v1.2.
• The only exception to version updates is the existing 300-220 CBRTHD exam, which will remain v1.0.

The last date to test for v1.1 of these exams is January 20, 2025. The first date to test for v1.2 is January 21, 2025.

Visit the CyberOps Updates web page for more information. Plus don't forget to check out the new Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking. The program empowers you to master essential offensive security skills and tackle real-world cyber threats, while earning your Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking.

EUROPE NORTH INSTRUCTOR TRAINING 2024-2025

NetAcad Instructor Training 2024-2025
Updated 1 October 2024

Become an Accredited NetAcad Instructor: Introductory & Accreditation Courses

Enrollment

To register for instructor training, click here: hyperlink

Several types of instructor courses are offered

• Introductory Courses for instructors about the learning platform, simulation tools and Python.
• Accreditation Courses & Equivalent: prepare to teach courses leading to industry-recognized certifications like CCST, Associate-level (CCNA, CyberOps, DevASC), or Professional-level (CCNP). Certification is independent of this training.
• It is necessary to enroll before 8 October 2024. We operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and in case of full groups, a waiting list will be created.

Planning

The sessions of semester one will start in October 2024. The sessions of the second semester will start in March 2025. Most core courses consist of a minimum of eight sessions. The planning of the instructor training you can find here: hyperlink

Overview of NetAcad Courses 2024-2025

Cisco Networking Academy offers a practical, high-quality curriculum designed to build essential IT skills and competencies for various professional roles.

With over 50 interactive courses, the NetAcad platform delivers hands-on experience and immediate feedback, covering a broad spectrum of subjects—from digital literacy and data science to more advanced IT topics. 

Most Recent Update

You will find the recent update published in Januay 2025 here: Download English_learning_portfolio_overview_-_jan_2025

Visual overview

A visual overview of all available courses on the NetAcad & SkillsForAll platforms you can find using the link below

• Visual Overview URL: Hyperlink

Actions and Reminders before convergence

Planned Downtime
Both NetAcad.com and SkillsForAll.com will be down for 72 hours from 8:00 pm PT on Thursday, August 22 through 8:00 pm PT on Sunday, August 25 (03:00 UTC on Friday, August 23 through 03:00 UTC on Monday, August 26).

Watch these key sessions to ensure you are prepared

• IPD Session: Top 5 Instructor Tasks
• IPD Session: Academy Management
• IPD Session: Are you ready?
• IPD Session: Creating and migrating course customizations

Changing passwords
Users who did not change their password between February 2024 and now will be required to change their password when they login to the new NetAcad.com.

Contact Role
On the new NetAcad.com, there will initially be only one Contact role per organization. Your Contact should be a person who deals with the day-to-day management of the program for your organization. At the end of October, we will release functionality allowing for a second Contact to be added.

New NetAcad Quick Start Guide for Instructors

Next generation teaching & learning experience

Topics

• Quick Navigation
• Legacy Classes
• Creating a new class
• Resources

URL: Download English - Quick Start Guide for Educators