ACADEMIA
CESGA, BALIDEA take the cloud to rural schools
- The project builds upon the results of a HP Labs awarded research project on cloud supercomputing and rural schools.
Last Friday, the Galicia Supercomputing Center (CESGA) and a Galician company BALIDEA Consulting & Programming have signed an agreement that allows the setting up of an ambitious project in educational innovation, to provide a cloud computing based network of infrastructures and services to primary schools, and particularly, to rural schools.
“Cloud Based School Network” project will design an infrastructure, services and methodology model based in cloud supercomputing to support education and collaboration between the schools, creating a network in which they can share educational experiences, create educational materials, and learn together.
“Rural School and Cloud computing” was a research pilot project carried out by CESGA. It was one of the three projects selected to be funded by HP Labs in the field of cloud computing and education worldwide. Its results were very positively valued by Galicia educational administration, school community and achieved a prestigious international award (Educared 2011) as one of the most innovative projects in school education among 4.000 proposals.
CESGA and BALIDEA, starting from the results of that previous project “Network of rural schools in the cloud” intend to move a step forward, bringing the advantages and possibilities of cloud supercomputing to a bigger number of students, teachers and schools, by providing a powerful cloud based collaboration and learning environment for them to work together.
Collaboration Agreement
BALIDEA based in Santiago de Compostela and Vigo and the CESGA reached an agreement that means a valuable transfer of knowledge between CESGA and a private company, as well as a commitment to attain an innovative and quality product that could also be successfully implemented outside our region. This is a clear example of collaboration between a private company and Galician Research System that directly benefits society, as well as an investment in the future for the creation and commercialisation of “made in Galicia" innovative products.
