Cases & Voices

(Author: Martha Ávila, CUDI) Once again the collaboration between the networks has demonstrated the force of technology in research, education and dissemination of science.

VC-CUDI

During the year of 2017 several successful cases were presented among the National Research and Education Networks (RNIE), many of them results of the collaborative work, the good disposition among the participants and the use of the VC-CUDI platform. Over ten months, 325 international meetings were held through the VC-CUDI videoconference system, with 3289 connections that meant 661 hours of active sessions. There were also 48 sessions of live transmission by YouTube connected to the VC-CUDI system, which represents more than 95 hours of video that up to September 2017 totaled 11587 views.

Delma Rodríguez, director of Anilla Cultural Latinoamérica-Europa in Uruguay shared her experience with the use of the system. "In Uruguay, we have used VC-CUDI for many years with excellent results. We have managed to generate very interesting synergies between different technical working groups at international level, with multiple interconnected rooms, exchange of interactive content, simultaneous interpretation in several languages, interoperability between different systems and platforms, expansion of broadcasts on various social networks, etc. "

Some of the features mentioned above have resulted in many benefits, both in specific Anilla projects and in joint ventures with CUDI, especially in terms of accelerating and optimizing processes, along with the gestation of new collaboration projects. For example, in the MuRe project, several technical and content developments carried out on the VC-CUDI platform are being used as input to apply in another way at the 1st International Colloquium on e-Science and e-Art to be organized by RedCLARA. The platform was also the place where other networks organized by Anilla Cultural were created and developed, such as the "Friends of CERN Network", the "SusInGI Community" on Internet Governance, or the newly formed "Performing Arts and Advanced Networks".

Another organization that benefited from VC-CUDI services was the Chilean National Research and Education Network, REUNA, which used the service primarily to conduct streaming sessions via Facebook and YouTube. "This collaboration service was very well received and used by REUNA. It allowed us to stream live content through social networks and generate a wider range of views. This means that the information has started flowing faster and that more users can now access it, even without knowing the event being transmitted", celebrates the REUNA Services Assistant, Beatriz Contreras.

VC-CUDI accessibility and compatibility

The Virtual Rooms of the videoconferencing system allow users to connect through Advanced Networks and the Internet. VC-CUDI is also compatible with CODEC's, computers, phones and tablets. They can also connect to sessions platforms such as Webex, Scopia, Enterprise Skype, ACANO and Vidyo, to name a few. Users can share their desktop through Google Chrome, Firefox and PEXIP application. According to Beatriz Contreras, VC-CUDI is easily accessible and compatible with REUNA's videoconferencing systems. "The tool is compatible with our own systems, such as the MCU (H323 equipment only) and PLAZA, a platform similar to VC-CUDI."

"The VC-CUDI system is excellent, not only for the tool itself, but for the human-technical team, from both CUDI and other networks, who are attentive to find new solutions with the tools they have. This is the true meaning of a collaborative culture around a common good", comments Delma Rodríguez before completing. "Often collaboration is seen in one direction only, to solve a particular problem that appears in a specific institution or place. Of course this is very good and it is always helpful, but we can also think of collaborating to create new things; and not with a 'collaborate to learn and then I go alone' attitude, but to maintain a collaborative dynamic that enhances networking".

"Thanks to the collaboration of the academic networks, it was possible to broaden the approach of our work with the community. In this way, users can compromise and take advantage of the advantages that the networks offer. Lately I have met many multicultural groups that come together through the videoconference service using different academic networks, which allowed them to approach and eliminate boundaries to advance in topics related to research, education, among others. As our CEO, Paola Arellano, would say, it is necessary to 'collaborate' to move forward", concludes Beatriz Contreras.