A participatory Foresight for National Research and Education Networks

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show some results from a Foresight study related to future trends about advanced technology services of National Research and Education Networks (NREN). The approach of this study was conducted by using Foresight methods, which means: a planning process in order to obtain the definition of the exercise scope, the establishment of relevant aspects for asking international experts about the aim of this Foresight study. These experts are directors of several NREN around the world. The main result concludes, among other things, that more network services are being built to provide dark fibber links to users, increasing the flexibility and agility in the delivery of new and better services. It is a trend that will continue and that should be encouraged. Also, collaborations with mobile service providers should be established to offer academically innovative solutions to users. Other results show that there is a potential, which opens the participation of non-university hospitals for remote care in the health sector. This is corroborated in the expert's opinion to qualify for being of high importance for the connectivity of hospitals and clinics. The results of this study are useful for any NREN around the world, but especially they have been used as input for the Colombian NREN.