ISLAMABAD, Apr 9 (APP): The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) of United States of America (USA) are jointly funding a high performance research and education network connection to support Pak-US Science and Technology collaborations. 

This dedicated network will link scientists, research facilities, supercomputers and databases in Pakistan and the US.  This project will connect the existing PERN and the developing PERN2 network to the global research and education network infrastructure. This connection will be implemented by a joint purchase of capacity on an undersea cable system connecting PERN/PERN2 in Karachi to an international network connection point in Singapore.

“The launching of new connection is part of HEC’s strategy to leap frog forward. We have similar parallel networks connections to connect Pakistan to research networks in Europe, Canada and Korea. The HEC has come of age and it has been successful in creating the infrastructure for best quality research through harnessing technology,” said Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman, Chairman HEC, while speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of seminar on ‘Dedicated Research and Education Connection between Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN) and Internet2 of the USA’.

“The faculty members and researchers must utilize the opportunities being provided by Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the field of education and research,” added Chairman HEC.

Dr. Atta asserted that only effective use of these new tools would make the difference in our education landscape and it is basically the faculty, which has to play a key role in this regard.

“All these steps including high-speed research networks, video conferencing, digital library etc are aimed at providing faculty members and researchers state-of-the-art facilities so that they can compete at international level”, he said.

He informed the gathering that 60 percent of HEC funds have been allocated for human resource development.

“Over 2,000 Pakistani scholars have been sent to world’s leading universities for MS and PhD studies and once these scholars come back they will find an entirely changed educational environment”.

Dr. James Williams, Director, International Networking and Operational Assurance and Principal Investigator for Indiana University said that we are here to celebrate an investment in knowledge on part of the US National Science Foundation and the Pakistan Higher Education Commission.

“For me and for many people here, this workshop represents a major milestone in the course of our project to enhance science and technology collaborations between the US and Pakistan. This project had its origins in the US-Pakistan Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology between Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman and Dr. Arden Bement of the NSF”.

“An important objective of this project was introduction of high-speed connectivity between the two countries and today we are announcing a very significant step toward meeting that objective.  This network connection is an important mechanism for enhancing collaborations. But, it is only a mechanism. It is now our responsibility to use this mechanism as a tool to enhance Pakistan-US science and technology activity”, he said.

“As we will see later in this Workshop, the areas of scientific collaboration between the US and Pakistan are many and varied. They range from studying the impact of climate change on glaciers to cooperation in nanotechnology to trauma and injury research to research in construction products and cement. All of these areas will benefit from this new network connection”, he added. 

Dr. Williams said this connection would enable high-speed transfer of medical images between countries. It will facilitate sharing of medical and research databases and publications. It will allow research groups separated by half a world to communicate easily via video-conferencing and to use the newest of collaborative tools. It will facilitate sharing of the best of US science and medical research with the best of Pakistani science and medical research, he added.

He concluded his remarks by quoting Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah as saying, “With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve”.

In his welcome speech, Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC, termed the new project a dedicated digital motorway between Pakistan and USA.

“Today we are launching a high-speed connection with Internet2 of USA with a complete focus on research. This will not be used for commercial purpose”, he said.

He said this high-speed connection will provide an excellent quality of service. “Its applications are endless and it will provide wonderful opportunities to our researchers in carrying out their studies in a variety of fields such as biotechnology, telemedicine, nanoscience, astronomy, molecular biology, computational science etc.”, he added.

The community of research is global and transcends all barriers and the latest venture will link Pakistan to international level research, he added.

He said that since its establishment, the HEC has been working to develop digital networks within universities and, through PERN, among different universities and higher education institutions. “We are in the process of developing PERN2 that will provide gigabit connectivity”, he concluded.