The National Academic Network of Advanced Technology (RENATA) has continued adding advanced Internet-connected institutions. Between 2010 and 2011, 34 new entities linked between research centers, health centers and culture, and institutions of higher education. The new connections will carry an achievement, but also major challenges.

Seven research centers, eleven health facilities, two cultural institutions and 14 higher education institutions were connected to RENATA between 2010 and 2011, leading to diversification and a significant increase in the number of entities related to advanced networks in Colombia.

RENATA, RedCLARA member, is the third network with the most advanced Internet-connected institutions in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico.

"With the support of our members of government and of our eight regional academic networks RENATA we are working to consolidate as the digital nervous system interface and include all academic and scientific institutions of the country to strengthen the development of science, technology, innovation and culture for the benefit of progress in Colombia, "said executive director RENATA, Martha I. Giraldo.

According to Giraldo, the rise was connected institutions in part thanks to support from the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communication through Digital Living Plan Colombia, with which it is linked to RENATA research centers, institutions health, library and museum.

The executive director of the Colombian NREN considers that admission to the network of the Museum of Antioquia in Medellín and Julio Pérez Ferrero Library of Cucuta, as well as eleven health centers is highly regarded throughout the country, "make the scene more RENATA suitable for academic debate and collaborative work because it will facilitate research activity among professionals of different areas."

Challenges.

In addition to the achievement of having more than one hundred entities connected-opening the doors to collaborative research, development of culture and innovation ", RENATA is facing significant challenges resulting from growth. We now have the major challenge of strengthening the various communities that have emerged. In 2011 we intend to follow our institutions in the process of ownership and generation of content over the network. Therefore, we support the consolidation of major projects of common interest repositories such as digital and computer screens, which are part of our strategy of e-science. We are also supporting the new institutions linked by their articulation through new communities created: health, culture and research. We are interested that our institutions is articulate and create spaces for discussion and collaboration to jointly find ways to maximize the new and powerful resource that's second to enable them to carry the relevant areas to new heights through new collaborative projects and research. " Giraldo said.

Dago Bedoya, RENATA Academic Manager, explains that "the current size of the network requires accompanying further strengthen the technical training and academic institutions to benefit from the infrastructure and network services."

For Andrés Ernesto Salinas, RENATA Technical Manager, "the volume of traffic RENATA continues to grow at a rate of 30% annually because RENATA has continued to consolidate its coverage in the country, we are now 134 institutions in twenty cities. Our priority is to further strengthen the network as the network infrastructure that provides the speed and quality of data for collaborative work, research, education and culture. "