EU project helps connect Mediterranean and Gulf researchers

Jordan has gained access to international research and education resources thanks to an EU-funded project.

The EUMEDCONNECT3 programme provides support to accessing technical resources, ICT equipment, software and specialist data. Such resources are now available to researchers and teachers in the Middle Eastern country through access to the dedicated research and education network known as GÉANT, which connects together national European research and education networks. The access is made possible by an agreement between the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) and DAMAMAX; particular beneficiaries to the deal include the Talal Abu Ghazaleh University, located in the capital Amman.

ASREN was launched in 2010 in order to better connect national research and education networks in Arab countries with those across the world. ASREN, which has been particularly involved in the EUMEDCONNECT3 project, has been set up to encourage co-operation between research communities in the southern and eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The EU project, which helped facilitate access to GÉANT, ran until the end of 2014 and received €3m in funding from the European Commission. It was co-ordinated by DANTE and sought to widen the extent of e-infrastructure in both the Mediterranean Sea and Gulf region to create a pan-Arab research and education network.