Mauritius to build a National Research and Education Network
Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – Mauritian Vice Prime Minister who is also Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, said on Wednesday that Mauritius will collaborate with institutions across Africa and elsewhere, and with 15 National Research and Education Networks (NREN) in Eastern and Southern Africa to set up a fit-for-purpose roadmap for the Mauritius NREN.
Speaking at a workshop on “Building a Roadmap for the Establishment of the Mauritian National Research and Education Network” at St. Regis Mauritius Resort, in Le Morne, southern Mauritius, the Vice Prime Minister said that the NREN can provide high-speed reliable network for academic and scientific collaborations, with bandwidth optimised for research and educational applications.
She added that it can also provide access to regional and international online resources, as well as help link institutions to regional centres and international collaborating partners, thereby reducing academic isolation and providing access to high cost instrumentation and laboratories.
According to her, a Mauritian NREN can also be used to share local resources between the island’s education and research institutions such as the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council, the Tertiary Education Commission and Universities.
The minister indicated that Mauritius has already gone beyond its boundaries and established links with other countries and blocs for the promotion of higher education and research.
She recalled that the latest partnership is between the Mauritian Education Ministry and France for a project to fund the mobility of researchers between Mauritius and France.
Furthermore, the Ministry is currently discussing with the World Bank for the hosting of the next partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology workshop, she said.
One official at the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology said the workshop aims at providing a platform for sensitising major stakeholders of a Mauritian NREN of the importance of the latter and how to proceed with the technical, financial and governance challenges linked to its implementation.
-0- PANA NA/AR 4Dec2019
