Friday, September 26, 2008
 |
PT’s CEO restated PT’s
commitment with education |
In just 88 days, 112 schools in Portugal got connected through 100 Mbps links, a pilot-project that counted on the unconditional support of Portugal Telecom as part of a strong bet of the company on initiatives of the Technological Plan of the Government in the scope of education. This was yet another step towards the deployment of a LAN and Internet access at all Portuguese schools to ensure a fixed and wireless access to every school in terms of new-generation broadband – a project involving PT and Cisco.
“We assumed the commitment of contributing to the development of education in Portugal through a significant investment increase”, explained Zeinal Bava. The conclusion of the deployment of broadband in 8,200 public schools in Portugal in 2006, and the e.escola and e.escolinha programs are examples of projects supported by PT, “critical to ensure the competitiveness of our country”.
“As of today, 100 schools will be connected through 100 Mbps links. Broadband speed is essential in modern societies” as it allows more communication, experience sharing, interconnection between teachers, students and schools, explained José Sócrates.
 |
 |
 |
“Portugal Telecom has done
a magnificent job”,
José Sócrates |
“The future built at the school is
the future of our country”,
M. de Lurdes Rodrigues |
“We took a significant step
today”, Carlos Brazão
|
The pilot-project was presented at Pinheiro e Rosa Secondary School in Faro, at a ceremony where several members of the Government were present, notably the prime-minister José Sócrates and the Minister for Education Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues. It was at this school that Portugal Telecom, in partnership with Cisco, demonstrated that services enabled by broadband are nearly unlimited. On the stage, in real-time, a conversation between the chairmen of the Executive Council of Secondary Schools Pinheiro e Rosa and Serafim Leite, in São João da Madeira, took place through a hologram. Although it might look like a science fiction movie, the truth is that the technological revolution is becoming true and the Portuguese schools are at the forefront of this revolution. It is through solutions like these that Portugal Telecom anticipates the future. This is but a small example of what the new technologies allow.
 |
The holographic projection (right)
was a world premiere |
According to Carlos Brazão, director-general of Cisco in Portugal, this was “a very important day for the Portuguese educational system and above all for our youngsters. Today, we took a significant step” in order to create a space of knowledge without frontiers.
“We are one of the first schools to implement the Technological Plan in Education. Society as we know it, is in constant transformation. School needs to follow up on this change”, stressed Rogério Bacalhau, chairman of the Executive Council of Pinheiro e Rosa Secondary School. Change is characteristic of every society; Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues discloses nevertheless that “ the big difference of current society is the pace and the rhythm of change. Technology changes and allows to change to world” and the future built at school is the future of our country”.