Kent State University, in partnership with the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) and Ireland’s Higher Education Authority Network (HEAnet), is in the process of a research project called Bangladesh Research Education Network (BdREN). BdREN will be a high-speed data communications network that is dedicated to meeting the needs of universities and higher education institutions in Bangladesh. BdREN, with its multigigabit capability, aims to connect all universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across Bangladesh to support geographically dispersed academics, scientists and researchers with reliable access to high-end computing, simulation tools and datasets.
Professor Javed Khan, Ph.D., chair of Kent State’s Department of Computer Science, is the principal investigator for this project.
“It is an amazing time for higher education institutions. The system is experiencing a radical phase transformation with the embrace of a digital revolution” Khan says. “Peer-to-peer deep technological collaboration and hands-on experience sharing between top-notch architects and engineers steering this unfolding revolution and the young higher-ed engineers from another part of the globe determined to make a difference can open up new possibilities that we never thought of before.”
Four BdREN engineers from Bangladesh were invited to attend training at OARnet in December with a visit to the Global Research Network Operations Center in Indiana. Led by Paul Schopis, chief technology officer of OARnet, internship topics covered Traffic Engineering, Bandwidth Management, DWDM Project Handling, Campus Networking and Disaster Recovery.
"What an exciting opportunity. These gentlemen arrived ready to learn and armed with insightful questions," Schopis says. “They have been fully engaged and seem to be forming fast friendships with the trainers. It provides an opportunity for the OARnet staff to learn about Bangladesh and the challenges BdREN confronts in the roll out of their new network.”
The engineers also spent time with Kent State’s Division of Information Services, headed by Vice President Ed Mahon.
Jason Wearley, executive director for Kent State’s Information Services Infrastructure, arranged the different sessions that covered Kent State’s high-level data and voice network, Unified Communications Engineering and Operations, Blackboard Course Management System and Server Infrastructure.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for our division to demonstrate our implementation of technology and services while learning through the experience of the Bangladesh engineers,” Wearley says.
Jeanne Tan, project coordinator at Kent State’s Department of Computer Science, worked alongside Khan and the BdREN team to ensure the success of the visit.
For more information about the BdREN project, visit https://www.kent.edu/cs/global-circ.