SKILLS SPOTLIGHT
CNET OFFERS MASTERS
DEGREE PROGRAM IN LIGHT
OF INDUSTRY PROGRESSION
CNet Training is giving people with an interest in the industry,
a chance to become part of the elite group of worldwide
data centre professionals. Its Masters degree program in
Data Centre Leadership and Management intends to expand
existing skills and knowledge of talented technical managers
to business leadership. Andrew Stevens, President and CEO,
CNet Training, offers a deeper insight.
Data centres are complex facilities
that are expected to deliver
faultless service and financial
results in a world of rapidly changing
technologies, business pressures and
environmental expectations.
In order to achieve this, data centres
need highly capable leaders and
managers – individuals who are capable
of dealing with business complexity and
technological change with the knowledge
and skills to ensure their teams deliver
against consistently challenging
objectives. In addition to being the global
leader in technical education for the
data centre sector, CNet is an Associate
College of Anglia Ruskin University in
Cambridge, UK and is therefore approved
to design and deliver the content of the
prestigious level 7 Masters degree in Data
Centre Leadership and Management.
The Masters degree program launched in
2015 and the first graduation took place
in October 2018. The three-year Masters
degree has proven very popular and
gone from strength to strength among
senior managers working in data centre
facilities wishing to form the elite group of
worldwide data centre professionals.
Previous graduates come from
companies including Unilever, Microsoft,
IBM, Capital One, Newmark Knight Frank,
Schneider Electric, Time Warner Cable,
Sudlows Limited, Digital Realty Trust
and Wirewerks, to name a few. Each
graduate committed to the three-year
programme centred around leadership
and business management within a data
centre environment.
Andrew Stevens, President and CEO,
CNet Training, discusses the detail of the
program and how to apply.
An overview of the program
The Masters Degree in Data Centre
Leadership and Management was created
out of the need to expand existing skills
and knowledge of talented technical
managers to business leadership. Arming
them with contemporary knowledge and
capability to manage business imperatives
and therefore have a more significant
impact on the business itself to contribute
to growth, innovation and insight.
The Masters Degree never stands still,
the CNet team are continually enhancing
and developing the program to match
the fast-paced nature of the data centre
environment to make sure the program
continues to accurately reflect the
needs of the data centre and business
leadership. The program content is
written by the CNet team in consultation
with industry leaders from all over the
world. The content of the Masters is rewritten
each year to ensure it reflects the
constantly evolving nature of the sector.
Year one of the program enables the
learner to develop their expertise in three
key themes that are at the heart of any
business: leadership; sustainability; and
financial management.
Year two takes the learner’s experience
and expertise to the next level.
The key topics include: data centre
issues of infrastructure management,
security and disaster recovery; human
resource management; organisational
behaviour; and strategies for maximising
performance and decision-making in
critical services.
Year three goes into further depth,
giving the learner the chance to develop
their thought leadership and address
specific business issues. Firstly, in the
‘Contemporary Issues in Leadership
60 Issue 17
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