ORT-KesherNet Centre, Tambov

The ORT-KesherNet Centre in Tambov for information and communication technologies began its operations in 2002. It is housed in the municipal centre for social assistance to families and children. KesherNet is a joint project of World ORT and Project Kesher

The main aim of the centre is to improve the social and economic status of socially vulnerable segments of the population by providing training for professional work with new information technologies. The centre also organizes seminars on a variety of social and economic topics, such as the fundamentals of economic literacy, copyright protection and children's Internet security. The centenary target audience includes unemployed women, disabled people, elderly people and young students.

In 2010 the centre became a part of the global HP GET-IT (now called HP LIFE) initiative to accelerate micro-entrepreneurship. This is a global program that trains students, potential entrepreneurs and small business owners to harness the power of IT in order to establish and grow their businesses.

Since 2010 the centre has also partnered with Microsoft to implement a not-for-profit program to boost levels of computer literacy in the region.

In 2011 a Cisco Networking Academy opened at the centre.

Courses

The centre runs a wide variety of courses and training manuals, presentations and handouts are developed for every course. Upon graduation of a course, all students receive certification.At the end of every course student knowledge is tested for monitoring improvement.