The use of the Advanced Network

11 May 2005

Work to start on building expertise in the use of the Advanced Network

The Ministry of Research Science and Technology (MoRST) has contracted the Next Generation Internet Society New Zealand (NGI-NZ) to help ensure New Zealand researchers will be well-informed and ready to use the Advanced Network high-speed, broadband network when becomes operational towards the end of this year.

The Advanced Network initiative, which is being led by the MoRST, will connect researchers and educationalists around New Zealand as well as internationally, allowing them to share their computing facilities and access high performance computers and instruments. They will also be able to share and get access to complex information faster and more economically.

The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, Dr Helen Anderson says the Advanced Network will be a new tool for the research and education communities in this country. “By allowing the speedy transfer of huge amounts of information, the Advanced Network will open new doors to the New Zealand research community, especially for collaborative work with their colleagues in New Zealand and internationally.” “But we want to be sure that our research and educational institutions and individual researchers are ready to make the best use of the potential of the network. This agreement with the NGI-NZ is a key one in a series of steps encouraging the use of the Advanced Network in that it will ensure that we have prepared our researchers to use it to its full potential when it becomes available,” Dr Anderson says.

Under the agreement, NGI-NZ will coordinate a range of support activities targeting prospective users and members of the Advanced Network, including seminars with overseas experts in advanced networking applications, assistance for technical research visits overseas, and technical workshops.

The Chair of NGI-NZ, Neil James says the joint programme with central government is an important first step to build expertise in the Advanced Network.

“We are pleased to be involved in this initiative to ensure the research, science and education community have the resources they need in place to make the best use of the opportunities that the Advanced Network will provide.

Over forty countries already have one or more advanced networks and the New Zealand network will allow researchers here to link in to those systems.

ENDS

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