In his statement, the minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Prof. Pierre Gomez, described GAMREN as a digital revolution in the tertiary and high education ecosystem in the country. He added that GAMREN’s benefits include high-speed connectivity, collaboration, research sharing, access to online resources and innovation.
He disclosed that the project is a manifestation through the help of its partners.
“The National Research and Education is a specialised network infrastructure designed to provide high-speed reliable network connectivity to academies and research institutions within a particular country,” Minister Gomez stated.
“Educational research communities will be able to innovate, share, and facilitate open and instant learning opportunities,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN), Baboucarr Barry, said they have tried so many years to bring Gambia into the community of research education network. “At last, Gambia is now among the WACREC,” he said.
He added that the network is all about collaboration, sharing knowledge, and promoting and establishing interconnections between national research and education networks in West and Central Africa.
According to research, WACREN provides advanced services aimed at fostering collaboration between research and education institutions in the region as well as between them and peer institutions at continental and international levels.
A representative from the World Bank, Alieu Bah, said for the national research and education network to be successful, it requires leadership, and as World Bank, they are committed to supporting such great initiatives toward accountability and prosperity.
“Our achievements on our intervention in the education sector have been quiet laudable,” Mr. Bah said.
On behalf of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the director general of the Gambia Information, Communication Technology Agency (GICTA), Dr. Karim Jallow, applauded the government for establishing the first-ever Information Communication and Technology Agency in the country which will be responsible for all ICT systems across the government and also help institutions to develop good, robust and reliable ICT systems.
