Information and communications industry leader Huawei and a technical education institute in Singapore jointly launched the city state's first gigabite passive optical network (GPON) training center on Tuesday.

The Broadband Technology and Services Training Center, set up in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), will be dedicated to in-depth GPON technology training for the institute's staff and students specializing in optical and broadband networks.

GPON is the underlying core technology that is being deployed nationwide for Singapore's Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (NGNBN), an all-fibre ultra-high-speed broadband network under Singapore's "Intelligent Nation 2015" masterplan.

In addition to the training, students will also be able to get Huawei certification in the GPON technology.

Zhou Bin, chief executive officer of Huawei Singapore, said that the collaboration will be ongoing with follow-up efforts.

Outstanding students will also be selected to embark on the Huawei Work Experience Program, where they get to visit Huawei's in Shenzhen, China. Staff at the institute will also be given opportunities to be trained and engaged in industrial projects.

Bruce Poh, director and chief executive officer of the institute, said that the training and certification will give its students an advantage that is relevant.

The institute has been striving to create "a platform to nurture work-ready and world-ready graduates," he said.

Both sides said that the collaboration is in line with the vision of Intelligent Nation 2015, a 10-year masterplan to build a well-connected society and develop the inforcomm industry.

Huawei has been the active network equipment supplier for Singapore's NGNBN infrastructure, while Alcatel-Lucent is the operations and business support systems integrator.