Punta Arenas: New node of the Patagonia network promises to turn Magallanes into a hub for research and education

Reuna Communiqué

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

On Thursday, November 16, the National University Network (REUNA) and the Regional Government of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica will sign an agreement that announces the creation of a Patagonia Project Node in Punta Arenas, the second in the Southern Macrozone, which seeks to promote research and education, enabling agile connectivity to share large volumes of open data and satellite images, of high interest to the scientific community of Chile and the world.

In November 2021, ANID and REUNA announced the “Patagonia Project”, which seeks to meet the connectivity needs of research and higher education institutions in the Austral Macrozone, delivering a network and digital platform solution that allows the regions of Aysén and Magallanes have a scalable, secure and resilient digital infrastructure to implement the public policy of the Ministry of Science and, thereby, support the mission of universities and training and research centers, which contribute to the development of knowledge from the territory. .

"As the region of Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic, we are very motivated and interested in being the first Regional Government to provide a high-speed connection node housed in our facilities, which will allow the science, research and education institutions of our territory, can connect to the NETWORK and the services that REUNA offers to the knowledge-generating Community. With this step, Magallanes strengthens the strategic development axis that is in clear development and enablement, to be a World Science Region for knowledge of the world and our people," said Jorge Flies Añón, Regional Governor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

Paola Arellano, Executive Director of REUNA, added: “For REUNA, this milestone, which marks the beginning of the deployment of the Magallanes Node and the Chilean Antarctic, is key to advancing the challenge we have set for ourselves of connecting all institutions. who carry out research and education in our country, among themselves and with their international peers, eliminating geographical and technological barriers, and promoting a space for collaboration that promotes the generation of new knowledge for the development of the country. This agreement with the Regional Government is unprecedented, in the more than 30 years that REUNA has had, when it was born as a project of the Universities, and shows the importance that the authorities give to this Node for the development of their region and the deep understanding of its relevance for science at a global level".

For her part, Verónica Vallejos, Seremi Macrozona Austral, explains that: “After two years of execution of the Patagonia project we arrive at this great day for regional research, since it is finally connected to REUNA, a network that will allow the institutions generating knowledge strengthen their capacity to do science of national and global importance in the territory, thanks to the transmission of information and data, in addition to facilitating collaboration between researchers with their national and international peers, encouraging the transfer of knowledge. This new enabling infrastructure is another step to transform the Southern Macrozone into a pole of development and scientific attraction with global impact, recognizing its importance as a natural laboratory.”

Finally, Alejandra Pizarro, National Director of ANID, pointed out: “As a State Agency, we celebrate this important milestone for the development of the CTCI, the result of the work and joint effort of various actors, with which ANID has been committed since its origin. Our conviction is that, to promote and develop science and technology in our country, it is key to have a permanent, stable and robust connection system to bring together the scientific and technological work that is generated from and for all territories. The Magallanes Node is an important step, thanks to which the researchers of this region, its universities and research centers, will be able to share and contribute with their work of excellence and avant-garde, contributing to moving the limits of knowledge, a challenge with which “Our institution is committed and busy.”

The agreement, established between ANID and REUNA for the deployment of Patagonia, contemplates an investment of 800 million pesos for enabling infrastructure, which allows the connection of the knowledge-generating institutions of the Southern Macrozone with the digital network and technological services of REUNA , through the implementation of two Points of Presence (PoP) in the cities of Coyhaique and Punta Arenas, respectively. These new sections consider the deployment of 1,310 kilometers of network, representing a 42% increase in the territorial extension of REUNA's digital infrastructure.

The potential beneficiaries of this project are universities, vocational training centers and research centers, autonomous and dependent. Thanks to the inauguration of the first node, in September 2022, the University of Aysén, the Patagonian Ecosystem Research Center (CIEP) and the Agricultural Research Institute (INIA-Tamel Aike) are already part of this network, and The invitation is for all R&E institutions present in the Southern Macrozone to join this initiative.

The objective of the project is to transform the Southern Macrozone into a hub of development and research in the era of Big Data and with a territorial sense, providing enabling digital tools to connect and strengthen the Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (CTCI) ecosystem of the Southern Macrozone. In this framework, it is expected, in the long term, to integrate the Patagonia network with other initiatives that are already being studied, to connect the Antarctic territory with the rest of the world, through Chile.

About REUNA

National University Network, REUNA, is a non-profit corporation made up of universities, research centers of excellence and international astronomical groups. It constitutes the National Research and Education Network of Chile (NREN) and is currently made up of more than 40 institutions.