Free Support in the UK & Ireland
NetAcad is Free!
We are often surprised that many organisations and educational professionals are unaware that we offer the Cisco Networking Academy for free to educators in the UK & Ireland. Historically, this was not always the case, however, as many resources from Cisco became more open, easier to access, and better aligned with national education levels, we encouraged Cisco Academies in the UK and Ireland to offer NetAcad for free.
As an early adopter, the Open University led the way - openly offering the majority* of NetAcad resources for free for everyone.
Who can access NetAcad for free?
Apprenticeship providers
Charities and not-for-profit organisations
Schools
Further Education Colleges
Higher Education institutions
Cisco may not allow a commercial provider become a Cisco Academy. Please contact the team to explore this further.
The Open University also works with other Academy Support Centres to offer free support and training using a hybrid, 100% remote model. Every, June, October and February we offer the following training for free:
CCNAv7 Routing and Switching (all three courses, Introduction to Networks, Switching, Routing and Wireless Essentials, Enterprise Networking, Security and Automation)
Network Security
DevNet Associate
CyberOps Associate
Whilst the vast majority of NetAcad resources, courses, and support are free, please note the following:
Linux 1 and Linux 2 courses have a per seat cost of $29.00. This is leveraged with NDG the provider of this content. The Linux Unhatched and Linux Essentials content is free.
CCNP courses, require purchase of the text book. Prices vary between £29 and £50 depending on bulk and supplier.
Equipment is optional for all courses except CCNP. If you do wish to purchase equipment, this is heavily discounted at around 70% discount . You can find more information regarding this in the About section. While you can purchase equipment for CCNA, Network Secuirty, and DevNet, please be aware that Packet Tracer has this covered.