As 2015 draws to a close, CKLN is grateful for the consistent work and effort of all the national R&E networks in the region, to our CARICOM and international partners who continue to see the value in developing and augmenting the possibilities for knowledge sharing, research and collaboration, especially in the areas of science, technology and innovation. All the best for 2016 to everyone.

NRENs Taking Root in The Caribbean

The National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in the Caribbean are taking ownership and making steady progress towards becoming legal entities.It is expected that 2016 will see at least four more NRENs established as legal entities in the Caribbean.  By doing so, they will not only be able to seek and access funding independently and implement other operations to serve their user institutions, but they will also be on par and able to fully engage with other 150+  NRENs around the globe.

CKLN is pleased to learn that Cabinet approval has been granted in Trinidad and Tobago and Belize to establish these entities into legal not-for-profit organisations. Haiti and the
Dominican Republic already have their NRENs established as legal entities and countries like Barbados, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Suriname (which at present function as volunteer Committees or Task Forces) are working assiduously for the same. Some have a Cabinet submission awaiting approval or are preparing for a full presentation to Parliament.

At present, CKLN functions both as the Caribbean representative in the international R&E milieu, and also on behalf of the various national R&E networks.

Although the structure of the NRENs around the world varies considerably, there are some common functions they all need to carry out. 
NREN
Best Practice
CKLN welcomes CORPUHA, The Haitian NREN

After some tentative starts, compounded by a major earthquake that it is still recovering from, Haiti is firmly back in the NREN family of the Caribbean.
 
With arrangements moving towards connecting to C@ribNET, a number of institutions have already become inter-connected and share courses.

The registered 13-member association, CORPUHA (the Haitian Conference of Rectors and Presidents of Universities) under the guidance of Mr. Patrick Attie, Executive Director, Ecole Sup�rieure d'Infotronique d'Ha�ti (ESIH) is the recognised National Research and Education Network of Haiti.

According to Mr Attie, CORPUHA is forming a Task Force to work on the connectivity issues and they are happy for the collateral CKLN brings to the table due to its relationship with other international R&E Networks. "We look forward to working alongside our Caribbean partners in the coming months, and are excited to share some initiatives from Haiti and collaborate with other communities of interest." 
Making the Case for NRENs Portal

To many national and regional R&E networks around the world, it often seems like an uphill battle tying to convince funders, governments, stakeholders and developmental communities about the value of a closed network dedicated to research and education. Well after "making the case" to global R&E partners, action was taken and a portal with a range of collateral from among the more developed RENs and NRENs was developed - and aptly named, THE CASE FOR NRENS PORTAL.

CKLN's CEO, Ken Sylvester, spoke about the portal at a recent workshop in Kingston and this provides a good overview of the portal.
Join A "Virtual Day" on
Politics and Models of Implementation of Open Access in The World
- Dec. 15, 2015


A Virtual Day will be held on December 15,  with a focus on Open Access, spearheaded by the MAGIC project as part of its mandate to engage various communities of interest around the world.

Speakers include Pascal Hoba, Chief Executive Officer of the UbuntuNet Alliance, Donatella Castelli, Technical Coordinator of OpenAIRE, Alberto Cabezas, Journalist (PUC), Magister (School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University and Kathleen Shearer, Executive Director, Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR).

See more information on registration, the speakers and the agenda. The Virtual day will be streamed so more persons can participate.
Report: Research & Education Networks Make Sense for K-12 as Bandwidth Demands Increase
 
By Dian Schaffhauser
October 23, 2015

Tremendous pressure for broadband access is being placed on schools, stemming in part from educational needs, in part from the demands of online testing and in part from the motivation to provide equitable access for all students. To alleviate that pressure, advised a group of education technology experts, it's high time those schools considered tapping into the massive capacity and high speeds of research and education (R&E) networks

The experts offered four recommendations to education policymakers and education community members
CKLN Board Visits Grenada PM
During the recent CKLN Board meeting held at their headquarters in Grenada, the Board members paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister. Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell.

The Prime Minister spoke of the regional ICT environment and the important role that CKLN and the regional research and education network, C@ribNET, has to play in advancing development though technology in the region

L-R: Mr. Marcellus Albertin, Prof. Archibald McDonald (Chairman),
Dr. Hermia Morton-Anthony, Dr. The Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, Mrs. Jennifer Britton, Mr. Jerry Teixiera, Dr. Spencer Thomas, Mr. Ken Sylvester (CKLN CEO).
Steve Cotter,
CEO, GANT
CKLN Welcomes Steve Cotter new GANT CEO

On behalf of the national R&E networks in the Caribbean, Mr. Ken Sylvester, CEO of CKLN welcomes Mr. Steve Cotter as the new CEO of
G
ANT, the pan-European research and education network that interconnects Europe's National Research and Education Networks (NRENs).
Mr. Cotter comes to GANT from the New Zealand NREN, REANNZ.

In the spirit of continued global knowledge sharing, Mr Sylvester welcomed Mr Cotter and extended an invitation to visit the Caribbean in 2016. 
Catch up with CANARIE

CANARIE is the Canadian Research & Education
Network. 
 
Canada's NREN is a successful federal-provincial collaboration in which governance, operations and funding are delivered via a highly cooperative model, with the partners working to ensure the network continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of today's data-intensive, highly collaborative research, education and innovation initiatives. CANARIE provides interprovincial and international network connectivity, while the provincial and territorial networks connect institutions within their jurisdictions.

With financial support from CANARIE during its 2012 - 2015 mandate, the NREN was extended to connect new institutions, and network capacity and redundancy were improved, strengthening the foundation supporting Canada's digital pioneers.
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