Thousands of Accenture employees participate in MIT Professional Education's Training and Certification Program
Launched in 2007, the Accenture Solutions Delivery Academy (ASDA), a training and certification program based on Accenture’s application delivery curriculum, is one of the largest corporate training collaborations ever undertaken by MIT. Currently, Accenture employees in 40 countries are pursuing certification through the Academy.
Accenture invested $900 million in key training programs worldwide during the company’s 2009 fiscal year, ended August 31.
“The Academy, developed with MIT Professional Education, provides an innovative way to enhance the skills of our employees through a rigorous curriculum and certification program,” said Eric Buhrfeind, ASDA Senior Executive and Academy Sponsor. “The Academy is one of many programs that helps us to continually assess and deepen our employees’ skill sets and ensure that we bring the best talent to our clients.“ As the markets start showing signs of recovery we anticipate there will be a great demand for these highly skilled certified individuals worldwide to meet our client’s business needs.
More than four million hours of Academy training have been delivered since the program’s launch, and nearly 3,000 employees have completed the program, earning an Application Developer, Application Designer, Application Tester, or Application Test Designer certification.
Through the program, MIT faculty work with Accenture staff on developing curriculum and exams for topics such as software engineering fundamentals, application design, and application testing. Accenture staff administers the courses and examinations.
Another element of the collaboration is a series of MIT faculty lectures delivered at Accenture sites around the globe. Last year MIT faculty traveled to India, Argentina, Brazil, China, and Chicago, Illinois, to speak on topics ranging from the importance of software testing to the latest advances in RFID technology. More than 10,000 Accenture employees have attended the lectures either live or via video.
“This kind of large-scale training collaboration between a major university and a major global corporation is unique, and we are very proud of what it has achieved,” says Bhaskar Pant, executive director of MIT Professional Education. “While the Accenture Solutions Delivery Academy program accelerates technical knowledge and skills of thousands of Accenture employees worldwide, we at MIT gain too by furthering our knowledge of the evolving needs and demands of the marketplace. We look forward to continue supporting Accenture in their quest to sharpen the value of many more employees across the globe.”
About MIT Professional Education
MIT Professional Education provides science and engineering professionals a range of programs that offer full or part-time academic study, skills for career reentry or retooling, and more than 50 two-to-five day intensive courses (some offered in international locations) taught by faculty from across the Institute. In addition, MIT Professional Education offers customized programs for a diverse set of corporate clients. Learn more: http://professionaleducation.mit.edu
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With approximately 177,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$21.58 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2009. Its home page is www.accenture.com.