In a press release issued today, Novell announced that they will be hosting two new programs for Linux training, specifically geared towards Linux students who wish to teach. It will focus on both Linux and open source, so likely will include many different software platforms, and is apparently being offered free of charge. They will be working with Thomsan Course Technology to provide the courses. From the press release:
"With the growth of open source software, the demand for Linux education has been expanding rapidly," said Stephen Helba, executive editor for Thomson Course Technology. "We are pleased to work with Novell to provide high-quality training materials to meet the needs of students worldwide. The strength of Novell's training programs and expertise in courseware and testing development, combined with Thomson Course Technology's market-leading educational materials, give students in academic settings an incredible opportunity to learn Linux."
Initially launching in 10 cities in North America, it's going to focus on SUSE Linux, which is a Novell product, but likely will apply largely to many other Linux distributions. To receive the free training, you do have to be enrolled in the Novell Academic Training Partner Program, so it won't be handed out to just everyone. Novell has a great interest in seeing the overall success of Linux continue, especially with things like Vista approaching release. OSS has growing in popularity vastly the past few years and Novell definitely wants to be a part of it. You can read about the NATP program at Novell's site.