The Coordinator of the Communications Center of the Polytechnic of Bragança, Nuno Rodrigues, shares the importance of connecting this higher education institution to 100 Gbps (Project RCTS100*) to the Science, Technology and Society Network: “This activation has a special meaning for our academic community”.
#1 What is the significance and impact of activating the connection of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança to the national teaching and research network at 100 Gbps?
Activating the connection of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança The 100 Gbps connection to RCTS has special significance for our academic community. This is because it finally represents the provision of connectivity to our institution under the same technical conditions (speed and redundancy) as those long guaranteed to most institutions along our country's coastal strip. We know this has been a long-standing desire of the entire FCCN Unit team, which, without ever giving up, has consistently demonstrated the utmost commitment over the years to finding viable options that would lead to the elimination of this "digital divide," which has now been achieved. Above all, we would like to express our recognition and gratitude to everyone at the FCCN Unit who contributed to this achievement.
#2 What is the importance and impact that the FCCN Unit's digital services and projects have on the daily lives of the IPBragança community?
The Polytechnic Institute of Bragança currently serves an academic community of over 10,000 people, including students, teaching staff, and non-teaching staff. This community has high connectivity requirements and relies heavily on electronic media for a wide range of activities, whether teaching, administrative, research, or outreach to the local and regional community. In this sense, the FCCN Unit's digital services are now essential tools used daily by our community, across the various areas identified. In addition to the essential high-speed internet connectivity service, we would like to highlight the importance of the service to our institution. Colibri/Zoom in supporting pedagogical activities and online access to scientific production provided by the b-on service.
#3 What other positive impacts result from this activation?
The completion of this new 100 Gbps connection, together with the integration of the IPB connection into the DWDM network managed by the FCCN Unit, also boosts the growth of the advanced computing cluster at the Center for Research in Digitization and Intelligent Robotics (CEDRI/IPB) and facilitates its future integration into national and international advanced computing networks. Furthermore, it enables access to the RCTS Lambda service (dedicated point-to-point circuits between teaching and research entities worldwide), thus enhancing the participation of the IPB research community (faculty, researchers, and research centers) in national and international projects involving advanced computing resources, particularly in the areas of big data and AI.
* Project co-financed by the Operational Technical Assistance Program, Portugal 2020 and the European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund.
