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NSRC's 2005 Workshops Include Bhutan, Mozambique, VenezuelaJoyce Winslow |
completion following the first-ever network training workshop for system administrators in Thimpu, Bhutan, last January. (Photo by Jichen Thinley, DrukNet) Continuing its mission of providing educational programs and engineering assistance to regional networks around the world, the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) is planning to participate in at least a half-dozen workshops in as many countries in the coming year. Many of these projects are still in the works, but here's a brief summary of recent activities and confirmed upcoming events: The NSRC began the year by presenting a network training session in Bhutan January 10-15. It was the first such workshop in that country, a preparation for Bhutan's hosting the South Asia Network Operators Group meeting, "SANOG VI," this summer. The NSRC team will also be among the presenters at the SANOG VI summer workshops: Hervey Allen, Sufi Frauq Abubaker (a colleague from Bangladesh), APNIC staff member Champika Wijayatunga, and Philip Hazel of the Cambridge Computing Center will provide instruction in IP Services during Track 2 sessions July 16-20, with Hervey serving as track leader. See http://www.sanog.org/sanog6/ for details. Also in January, NSRC project manager Steve Huter participated in the National Science Foundation meeting "Enhancing Collaborative Research on the Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)," serving as co-moderator and rapporteur for a panel on information technology, communications, and data management. Afterward, Dr. Frederick Semazzi, who co-chaired the meeting and helped to organize it, commended the NSRC for its continuing contribution to international collaborative research by saying, "Because of its distinguished track record in network technology for developing countries, NSRC is uniquely positioned to provide strategic guidance and expertise to the follow on activities after the SSA Workshop." Dr. Semazzi is currently on the faculty at North Carolina State University in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. More recently, the NSRC has been gearing up for participation in AfNOG 2005, the sixth annual meeting of the African Network Operators' Group, which will be held April 18-25 in Maputo, Mozambique (see http://www.afnog.org/workshop2005.php). Steve Huter and Lucy Lynch are helping to organize the event and UO Computing Center support specialist Joel Jaegli will provide instruction for the Internet Services track. Also on the 2005 agenda is an advanced workshop on Internet routing techniques taught by UO network engineers José Domínguez and Carlos Vicente as part of WALC 2005 in Merida, Venezuela in July. The annual WALC event is a series of training workshops for IT technicians and professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasizing hands-on experience and the latest technologies. For more details about this workshop, see http://www.walc2005.ula.ve/taller4.html A brief history of the NSRC. The roots of the NSRC project trace back to a volunteer effort by Randy Bush to support networking in southern Africa in 1988. The NSRC was formalized in 1992 by Randy Bush and John Klensin with a grant from the National Science Foundation, the first of several NSF grants to support NSRC activities. The NSRC has been based at the UO Computing Center since 1996, working in cooperation with various UO staff and faculty. Since its inception, the NSRC has been supported by many partners in industry and academia who generously contribute in-kind equipment and materials, funding, and expertise to its activities. Among these are the Internet Society, Cisco Systems, the International Development Research Centre, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For a complete list of current sponsors, see http://www.nsrc.org/sponsors/ For more information about NSRC activities, visit the NSRC website at http://nsrc.org/ |
