ARTECULATE
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Premium
  • Features
    Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

    Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

    Almaden International

    Inside Almaden Towers: A New Horizon for Collaborative Innovation

    CodeGen | Culture | Innovation | Sri Lanka

    Transforming Holidays and Building Electric Sports Cars: Discovering the Dynamic Culture of CodeGen

    PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

    PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

    Gapstars | AI

    Embracing the Future: Highlights from Gapstars AI Day Exploring its Limitless Possibilities

    Creative Software | CSR | Together We Care

    Together We Care: A Better Sri Lanka through Impactful Engagement for Social Good by Creative Software

    Indonesia’s Baskit Is Empowering Traditional Distribution Businesses With Technology and Commercial Support

    Indonesia’s Baskit Is Empowering Traditional Distribution Businesses With Technology and Commercial Support

    Insights from Dr. Dhammika Elkaduwe: The First Sri Lankan Recipient of the ACM Software System Award

    Insights from Dr. Dhammika Elkaduwe: The First Sri Lankan Recipient of the ACM Software System Award

    Shaping the Future: How LankaPay Enables Customer-Driven Innovation in Sri Lanka’s Financial Sector

    Shaping the Future: How LankaPay Enables Customer-Driven Innovation in Sri Lanka’s Financial Sector

    PetParker helps Pets Spend More Time with Their Loving Owners

    PetParker helps Pets Spend More Time with Their Loving Owners

  • Startups
  • Events
  • Hotpicks
  • Community
    Unlock The Secrets of Startup Funding with Founders Institute Sri Lanka

    Unlock The Secrets of Startup Funding with Founders Institute Sri Lanka

    The RiskSense Story: Building a Cyber Security Product

    The RiskSense Story: Building a Cyber Security Product

    Negotiating to Thrive – Lessons from a Hostage Negotiator

    Negotiating to Thrive – Lessons from a Hostage Negotiator

    First wildlife travel-based management lessons book by Sarath Perera to be launched

    First wildlife travel-based management lessons book by Sarath Perera to be launched

    Hack:bit 2020 is bringing the ideas of students and undergraduates to life

    Hack:bit 2020 is bringing the ideas of students and undergraduates to life

    ESCaPe 2020: University of Peradeniya’s Engineering Students Conference

    ESCaPe 2020: University of Peradeniya’s Engineering Students Conference

    Trending Tags

    • Contributor
    • Billboard
    SUBSCRIBE
    • News
    • Premium
    • Features
      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      Almaden International

      Inside Almaden Towers: A New Horizon for Collaborative Innovation

      CodeGen | Culture | Innovation | Sri Lanka

      Transforming Holidays and Building Electric Sports Cars: Discovering the Dynamic Culture of CodeGen

      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      Gapstars | AI

      Embracing the Future: Highlights from Gapstars AI Day Exploring its Limitless Possibilities

      Creative Software | CSR | Together We Care

      Together We Care: A Better Sri Lanka through Impactful Engagement for Social Good by Creative Software

      Indonesia’s Baskit Is Empowering Traditional Distribution Businesses With Technology and Commercial Support

      Indonesia’s Baskit Is Empowering Traditional Distribution Businesses With Technology and Commercial Support

      Insights from Dr. Dhammika Elkaduwe: The First Sri Lankan Recipient of the ACM Software System Award

      Insights from Dr. Dhammika Elkaduwe: The First Sri Lankan Recipient of the ACM Software System Award

      Shaping the Future: How LankaPay Enables Customer-Driven Innovation in Sri Lanka’s Financial Sector

      Shaping the Future: How LankaPay Enables Customer-Driven Innovation in Sri Lanka’s Financial Sector

      PetParker helps Pets Spend More Time with Their Loving Owners

      PetParker helps Pets Spend More Time with Their Loving Owners

    • Startups
    • Events
    • Hotpicks
    • Community
      Unlock The Secrets of Startup Funding with Founders Institute Sri Lanka

      Unlock The Secrets of Startup Funding with Founders Institute Sri Lanka

      The RiskSense Story: Building a Cyber Security Product

      The RiskSense Story: Building a Cyber Security Product

      Negotiating to Thrive – Lessons from a Hostage Negotiator

      Negotiating to Thrive – Lessons from a Hostage Negotiator

      First wildlife travel-based management lessons book by Sarath Perera to be launched

      First wildlife travel-based management lessons book by Sarath Perera to be launched

      Hack:bit 2020 is bringing the ideas of students and undergraduates to life

      Hack:bit 2020 is bringing the ideas of students and undergraduates to life

      ESCaPe 2020: University of Peradeniya’s Engineering Students Conference

      ESCaPe 2020: University of Peradeniya’s Engineering Students Conference

      Trending Tags

      • Contributor
      • Billboard
      No Result
      View All Result
      ARTECULATE
      No Result
      View All Result

      Project BeLISAC: An International Effort to Improve Access to Online Learning Across South Asia

      Arteculate Arteculate
      November 20, 2022
      · 5 mins read
      Project BeLISAC: An International Effort to Improve Access to Online Learning Across South Asia
      Share on Facebook Share on LinkedinShare on Whatsapp

      The pandemic dealt education a significant blow, especially in Sri Lanka. Overnight, educational institutions closed their door for what would become an extended lockdown lasting months. Therefore, it was paramount for these institutions to transition to online learning for continuity. However, this was fear easier than done. Aside from retraining educators on the practicalities of online learning, a bigger problem was needing robust infrastructure to bring students and faculty online. 

      You may also like

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      September 20, 2023
      Almaden International

      Inside Almaden Towers: A New Horizon for Collaborative Innovation

      August 31, 2023
      CodeGen | Culture | Innovation | Sri Lanka

      Transforming Holidays and Building Electric Sports Cars: Discovering the Dynamic Culture of CodeGen

      August 7, 2023
      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      July 18, 2023

      Seeing the standstill local higher education had come to, Sri Lanka’s NREN (National Research and Education Network) LEARN, in partnership with BdREN and NORDUnet, stepped up with an online Zoom learning facility worth a few million. Now it’s entering its next phase with Project BeLISAC (Building eLearning Infrastructure in South Asian Countries). This initiative is an ambitious effort to bring online learning to six countries across South Asia and around, with the right infrastructure. Furthermore, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the BeLISAC project is committed to empowering women and diversity for a more equitable IT industry. To that end, it will train a team of female engineers from each host country to manage the network infrastructure. 

      Sri Lanka, online learning, and the pandemic

      LEARN | BdREN | Sri Lanka | Online Learning

      Before the pandemic, LEARN, and its leadership knew the power of online learning. In 2019, the organization acquired Premium Zoom licenses through a partnership with NORDunet and BdREN. Yet, they were underutilized by local academia. But the pandemic changed everything. When the first lockdown demanded reinvention of learning, LEARN, through its partnerships, obtained an enhanced package of 5000 and then 12000 Zoom accounts for local higher education institutions, providing Premium Zoom licenses to every teacher and administrator of all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). 

      Local higher education institutions utilized these accounts and embraced online learning. While this increased activity was a sudden hit to LEARN’s infrastructure, the organization was committed to keeping it a free service. Hence, it negotiated with telecom operators for free data, the first of its kind in the education sector. Further, it invested in expanding its infrastructure, thus, setting up a series of Zoom servers locally, which ensured free, uninterrupted access for students and academics. Therefore, Sri Lankan higher education seamlessly transitioned to online learning. 

      Of course, this feat wasn’t without its challenges. In the early days, classes were staggered to reduce stress on the computing resources LEARN had in place. These were supplemented by additional hardware from larger universities. They again reached full utilization in 2021, even after securing $150,000 in funding to bridge this infrastructure gap. Throughout this journey, LEARN didn’t compromise on its core values of providing accessibility to Sri Lanka’s higher education sector.  

      Growth is continuous: Project BeLISAC

      LEARN | BdREN | Sri Lanka | Online Learning

      If the last few years have taught us anything, global thinking is essential. Such is the next step for online learning in South Asia with the Building eLearning Infrastructure in South Asian Countries (BeLISAC) project. This initiative is a confederation of organizations and national research networks coming together. In doing so, it’ll create a platform for learning with additional computing resources and capacity building to enable greater development in South Asia. 

      Several organizations are involved with BeLISAC. Chief among them is Asi@Connect supporting the initiative as part of its Distance Learning Education Project, contributing funding, computer resources, and capacity building for female engineers. NORDUnet will also be involved in these capacity-building efforts. Alongside them are four national research networks – BdREN (Bangladesh), LEARN (Sri Lanka), NREN (Nepal), and DrukREN (Bhutan) – all of whom are contributing their computing resources to the project. 

      Building digital infrastructure for online learning

      LEARN | BdREN | Sri Lanka | Online Learning

      One of the critical challenges BeLISAC will work to minimize is educators and students needing to be able to use Zoom licenses in production mode. This issue was due to NORDUnet computing resources being unable to handle the load from hosting classes. Beneficiary countries and their NRENs, like LEARN in Sri Lanka, overcame this with an “On-prem” solution. While it successfully offered continuity, the approach still had room for improvement, particularly due to the infrastructure limitations, which is the aim of the BeLISAC project. 

      The initiative will see 4 data centers built across South Asia in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. These centers, which will be connected via the TIEN network, will offer Zoom services not just for their host countries but also for Laos and Cambodia. The infrastructure in Sri Lanka as part of the BeLISAC project will be operated by LEARN and placed at its present data center. The additional servers and resources that will be added to LEARN’s data center as part of the BeLISAC will remain dedicated to ‘LEARN Zoom services as part of the project’s core purpose. 

      Training female engineers 

      Another aspect of the BeLISAC project is capacity building by training female engineers in each country to manage this new infrastructure. Under NORDUnet mentorship, these engineers in each country will actively participate in the ongoing infrastructure development of the project. These engineers were also invited to join the latest NORDUnet Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. In the future, the project also aims to offer opportunities for female interns to play an active role in the project. Ultimately, through these efforts, the participating organizations of the BeLISAC project aim to improve the rate of female participation in technology, contributing to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, one of the seventeen SDGs. 

      The vision of Project BeLISAC

      LEARN | BdREN | Sri Lanka | Online Learning

      The BeLISAC project is an international undertaking by several organizations to expand online learning. In turn, it is laying the foundation for bridging the digital divide in its host countries, which the pandemic so powerfully highlighted. The investments in computing infrastructure and capacity development as part of the BeLISAC project will bridge this divide and reduce the gender gap. Aligning with global female STEM initiatives, it’s a crucial step towards improving access to online education and a more gender-inclusive ICT industry, not just in Sri Lanka but across South Asia.

      Tags: LEARNSponsored
      ShareShareSend
      Previous Post

      IdeaBits is the Tech Partner Helping Startups Grow from Disruptive Ideas to Unicorn Status

      Next Post

      “Hearts, not Heads” Makes BISTEC Global a Great Place To Work

      Arteculate

      Arteculate

      Arteculate is your guide to the Asian tech industry. We give you unparalleled insights, accurate, local tech news, thoughtful features and sometimes scathing opinions on where things are headed. Stay tuned for the best of Asia!

      Recommended Stories

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence
      Features

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      September 20, 2023
      Almaden International
      Features

      Inside Almaden Towers: A New Horizon for Collaborative Innovation

      August 31, 2023
      CodeGen | Culture | Innovation | Sri Lanka
      Features

      Transforming Holidays and Building Electric Sports Cars: Discovering the Dynamic Culture of CodeGen

      August 7, 2023
      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions
      Features

      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      July 18, 2023
      Gapstars | AI
      Features

      Embracing the Future: Highlights from Gapstars AI Day Exploring its Limitless Possibilities

      July 7, 2023
      Creative Software | CSR | Together We Care
      Features

      Together We Care: A Better Sri Lanka through Impactful Engagement for Social Good by Creative Software

      July 5, 2023
      Leave Comment

      Recommended Stories

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      Insights from APAN56: A Comprehensive Look at 5 Days of Collaborative Excellence

      September 20, 2023
      Almaden International

      Inside Almaden Towers: A New Horizon for Collaborative Innovation

      August 31, 2023
      LEARN Hosts APAN56 in Sri Lanka: Uniting the Asia-Pacific Community for Collaborative Innovation

      LEARN Hosts APAN56 in Sri Lanka: Uniting the Asia-Pacific Community for Collaborative Innovation

      August 14, 2023
      CodeGen | Culture | Innovation | Sri Lanka

      Transforming Holidays and Building Electric Sports Cars: Discovering the Dynamic Culture of CodeGen

      August 7, 2023
      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      PickMe Pass and Uber One: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Mobility Subscriptions

      July 18, 2023
      Gapstars | AI

      Embracing the Future: Highlights from Gapstars AI Day Exploring its Limitless Possibilities

      July 7, 2023

      Popular Stories

      • Coca Cola and Avocado: A Partnership Rewarding Food Experiences

        Coca Cola and Avocado: A Partnership Rewarding Food Experiences

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Rhoda: The all-electric Sri Lankan Roadster

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Spotify Expands Into Sri Lanka: Exploring What It Has To Offer

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Leveraging the Power of AI: How EBI is Building a Digitally Inclusive Sri Lanka

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • The DirectPay Story: Building a Virtual Bank One Digital Brick at a Time

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      No Result
      View All Result
      • News
      • Premium
      • Features
      • Startups
      • Events
      • Hotpicks
      • Community
      • Contributor
      • Billboard

      © 2020 Arteculate™ All Rights Reserved.

      Are you sure want to unlock this post?
      Unlock left : 0
      Are you sure want to cancel subscription?