Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa

Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa
Name	Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa
Native name	Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa
Formation	1989
Headquarters	Brasília
Region served	Brazil
Membership	universities, research institutes, hospitals
Leader title	Director

Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa is Brazil's national academic and research network connecting universities, research institutes, hospitals, museums, and cultural institutions across the country. It serves as a backbone for digital collaboration among institutions associated with Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Fiocruz, and other major centers such as INPE, Embrapa, and regional universities. The network supports high-performance computing, scientific instruments, telemedicine, and distance learning used by groups linked to CNPq, CAPES, FAPESP, and federal ministries in Brasília.

History

The origins trace to late 1980s initiatives influenced by international projects like ARPANET, EARN, and JANET and by regional developments involving UNICAMP, USP, and the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Early milestones included pilot links among Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, and research centers such as LNCC and Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica that paralleled efforts at CERN and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Expansion in the 1990s connected state networks coordinated with agencies like FINEP and integrated services modeled on TERENA and GÉANT. Subsequent upgrades during the 2000s paralleled global initiatives from Internet2 and collaborations with National Science Foundation projects, while aligning with national programs led by Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações.

Organization and Governance

The governance structure comprises institutional members drawn from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, and municipal research hospitals affiliated with Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP. Oversight bodies have included boards with representatives from funding agencies such as CNPq, CAPES, FAPESP, and federal bodies in Brasília, coordinating policy with stakeholders like Confap and state secretariats. Operational centers are hosted at nodes associated with LNCC, Inpe, LACEN, and large campuses like UFRJ and UNICAMP, while standards and technical committees engage engineers with experience from Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, and international consortia including IETF and RIPE NCC.

Network Infrastructure and Services

Core infrastructure interconnects metropolitan and regional points at capacity levels comparable to major backbones, leveraging optical fiber rings, DWDM systems, and peering agreements with carriers operating segments similar to those used by Telebras, Embratel, and submarine cable operators linked to South Atlantic Cable System and Atlantis-2. Services include identity federation interoperable with federations like eduGAIN, high-performance computing grids interoperable with clusters at SAC, and scientific data repositories used by projects coordinated with Fiocruz, INPE, and CPTEC. Functional offerings encompass video conferencing comparable to platforms used by ITU, remote instrumentation access analogous to facilities at CERN and ITER, and cybersecurity operations influenced by practices from CERT teams and coordination with CTIR Gov-style units.

Research and Education Initiatives

The network supports initiatives in computational modeling employed by groups at LNCC and INPE for climate and remote sensing studies linked to collaborations with IPCC authors and programs like GEOSS. Other supported activities include genomics and bioinformatics projects involving FIOCRUZ, Embrapa, and university centers that collaborate with international efforts such as ELIXIR and H3ABioNet. Distance learning platforms connect medical schools affiliated with Hospital das Clínicas da USP, teacher training programs coordinated by CAPES, and MOOCs comparable to platforms used by MIT and Coursera in partnerships with cultural institutions like Museu de Arte de São Paulo and Instituto Moreira Salles.

Partnerships and International Collaboration

International partnerships have linked the network to counterparts such as GÉANT, Internet2, RedCLARA, and national research and education networks including JANET, DFN, and RENATER, enabling joint projects with institutions like CERN, ESA, NASA, and universities such as University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Regional cooperation involves Latin American bodies including RNP, RedCLARA partners in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, and coordinated research programs with agencies like ERC and Horizon 2020 participants.

Funding and Development Projects

Funding sources comprise Brazilian agencies CNPq, CAPES, FINEP, and state foundations such as FAPESP, FAPERJ, and FAPEMIG, alongside project grants from international programs including Horizon Europe and technical cooperation with organizations like UNESCO and World Bank. Major development projects have targeted backbone upgrades, multicampus grid deployments, and pandemic response initiatives integrating telehealth services used by SUS hospitals and public health labs coordinated with Fiocruz and municipal health secretariats. Ongoing modernization efforts prioritize partnerships with vendors and consortia that have historically included Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, and regional carriers, while aligning procurement and capacity-building with national research priorities set in Brasília.

Category:Research and education networks