The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad relies on Extreme Networks to deliver premium education services

The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad in India is the second in the network of Aga Khan Academies and follows the highly successful model established by the first Academy, which opened in Kenya in 2003. 

Source: Extreme Networks.

The Academies offer the International Baccalaureate programme, emphasising critical thinking, active learning and creative problem solving. The Academy includes unique academic, co-curricular and international travel and study programmes supported by many prominent partners in the US, UK and Europe.

“We may want to share classes with all the schools in the future so children in Africa or Central Asia could participate in a class, that is being delivered in Hyderabad by a prominent guest speaker, using live streaming and screen sharing technology,” said Sanjeeb Mohanty, Head of information and communications technology at The Aga Khan Academy.

The institution found that Extreme Networks would help it deliver on this vision. Salim Bhatia, Director of Academies at the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad, said that Extreme Networks fit their requirements for infrastructure that is simple, efficient and guaranteed with the quality of service necessary to support educational technologies like VolP and video. "At the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad, excellence in education is important and we want to use technology that will enable us to achieve this," he said.

"The fundamental decision that we made to go with Extreme Networks was because it offers a very high level of bandwidth and security at a very reasonable cost,” added Mohanty.

The solution connects students and staff throughout classrooms, dormitories, research labs and athletic facilities with BlackDiamond 8800 switches in the core and new data centres based on Summit X650 and X460 switches. The new infrastructure supports the delivery of teachers’ notes and lessons through real-time video applications, which provides students with a flexible approach to learning.

"Extreme Networks management control and visibility technology are a winning combination. It is future-looking, allowing us huge potential for growth," said Ian Kerr, Head of the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad. 

Extreme Networks also supports wireless connectivity for staff and student laptops, tablets and smartphones with secure and personalised services. As students and staff move across the 100-acre campus, the network registers their devices across multiple access points and maintains connections seamlessly. 

“Enabling the bring your own device (BYOD) concept has always been our goal as it gives tremendous freedom to teachers, staff and students alike,” said Mohanty. “We need our network to offer unhindered access without security issues. No matter which place you are in, users are able to access the network. The user profile is carried through and that is such a great feature to have at the switching end."