High speed connection to the TEIN3 international Research & Education network set to accelerate research and education in Bangladesh

3 January 2012, Cambridge, UK – Researchers in Bangladesh tackling the serious issues facing their country including extreme flooding, malnutrition, disease and food security have improved prospects thanks to a new high-speed internet link to researchers in locations around the world.

Bangladesh becomes the latest country to connect to the TEIN3 (Trans-Eurasia Information Network) research and education data-communications network for Asia Pacific. Thanks to the TEIN3 link the country’s highly active research community will be able to share findings and collaborate with other international institutions worldwide more quickly and simply, with potential for accelerating societal benefits.

The country’s researchers will be better able to collaborate on research programmes that improve prospects for the country.  The link paves the way for 100,000 Bangladeshi researchers at 100 academic and research Institutions in Bangladesh to collaborate with international colleagues via their national TEIN3 partner, Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN).

Bangladesh joins Sri Lanka, Singapore, India and Pakistan as the most recent countries to connect to TEIN3, following the extension of the network into South Asia in 2010. The TEIN3 network, which is co-funded by the European Commission, extends to the South Asian sub-continent serving over 45 million users in more than 8,000 academic institutions and research centres across Asia.

“This is a major step forward for BdREN, as joining TEIN3 will enable academics, scientists and researchers in Bangladesh to collaborate with the wider international research community,” said Professor A. K. Azad Chowdhury, the Chairman (State Minister) of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh. “This exciting development significantly widens the scope of researchers, in particular those needing access to high-end computing, simulation tools and datasets. This will help Bangladeshi researchers to work on projects with high societal impact such as food security, climate change mitigation and medical research and training.”

He continued: “The financial support of the European Commission towards funding our TEIN3 connection is invaluable.”

Bangladesh joins China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia in the expanding TEIN3 network.

David West, project manager at DANTE, the not-for-profit company that manages TEIN3 commented: ‘The current TEIN3 partners are delighted to welcome Bangladesh to the network. Seeing the network expand into Asia Pacific, improving access to knowledge and learning, is immensely gratifying and a significant achievement.’

Furthermore, a high speed link to GÉANT means the TEIN3 community also enjoys high quality Internet connectivity with the 40 million users served by the pan-European network. Further countries in South Asia planning to connect to TEIN3 include Bhutan and Cambodia.