Indiana University is leading a project to connect Pakistan to the global research community via a new high speed network. The university, the National Science Foundation, the Pakistan Higher Education Commission, and the European Commission are partners and will extend the NSF-funded TransPAC2 network managed by IU to connect scientists.
The network connection will enable Pakistani scientists from 60 universities and institutes, to be linked via the Pakistan Education Research Network to work with international peers on research projects that require fast data transfers across the globe.
The Committee agreed to aggressively pursue the linkage of institutions in Pakistan with counterpart institutions in the U.S. in such focus areas as genomics, scientific and industrial research, electronics, training in measurement science and standards, molecular medicine and information technology. Other areas for scientific cooperation include remote sensing and ways to stimulate and enable innovative entrepreneurial partnerships. Nanotechnology and advanced light source science were also identified as areas for possible cooperation.
The U.S. and Pakistan will also seek opportunities to cooperate in strengthening the existing disease surveillance program in Pakistan and have agreed to develop cooperation in distance learning including the expansion of a digital library program.
In another move to further promote understanding with international programs, Cisco gave a $650,000 gift including three years of networking and support costs, to install their TelePresence video conferencing room complete with a 65 inch high definition screen to create a virtual meeting space at Purdue University in their Department of Computer Science.
Aditya Mathur, Department Head, reports that Purdue is a global university with students from over 100 countries in over 100 universities outside of the U.S. He is sure that the Cisco TelePresence University Connection Program will greatly improve the quality of interactions with global students, researchers, and partners.
Doug Comer, Vice President of Cisco Research and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Purdue said “we believe this is an important step in fostering an open, more collaborative research environment for innovation in the 21st century and beyond.”
