On 15 March 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal, the session “NRENs’ activities during the pandemic and attained resilience” at the APAN55 meeting saw Mohammad Tawrit, CEO of Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN), on behalf of the Steering Committee of the Asi@Connect Project, present Valter Nordh, CEO of NORDUnet, with the Facilitator for Emerging NRENs 2021 award.
The award was given to NORDUnet by the Asi@Connect Project for NORDUnet’s strong support for BdREN and other Asian NRENs in the NORDUnet emerging NREN program, and in particular, in the two Asi@Connect projects facilitating Distance Learning using Digital Conferencing facility (fDLuDCI) and Building e-Learning Infrastructure in South Asian countries under TEIN (BeLISAC).
As Principal Investigator of both projects, Mohammad Tawrit expressed his gratitude for NORDUnet’s invaluable contribution to the execution of the fDLuDC project, which created facilities for distance learning in five beneficiary countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand). Similarly, he appreciated the co-financing of the follow-up project BeLISAC for the continuation of facilitation of online education and the advancement of female engineers and students in the community.
Mohammad Tawrit described these projects as phenomenal successes with an undisputed impact in the community, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Mr. Tawrit specifically expressed his appreciation for the tireless efforts of Erik Kikkenborg, Erik-Jan Bos, and the NORDUnet technical teams in realizing these projects.
