04 April 2012 — Cambodia is the newest member of the Trans-Eurasia Information Network 3 (TEIN3), the Pan-Asian research and education network (REN), bringing the number of Asian countries benefiting from it to 17.

The Cambodia REN (CamREN) worked closely with the Vietnam REN (VinaREN), the national research and education network of Vietnam, to achieve its physical connection. The VinaREN arranged a dedicated link from its network in Hanoi to the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), and provided access to its TEIN3 connection.

CamREN is a network of five prime universities in Cambodia which include ITC, National Institute of Education (NIE), Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), University of Health Science (UHS), and Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), which is also tasked to allow connectivity to other research centers and universities.

The development of CamREN would be boosted by its link to TEIN3, as it works to strengthen local and international research activities. Initially, researchers would come to ITC as a pilot experience to get experimental data and documents. In its second step, all universities would provide the same service in their own libraries. Finally, other public and private in Cambodia would be invited to join CamREN in accordance to their interest, as well as the development of their research activities.

Via said connectivity, 35,000 Cambodian researchers and scientists can collaborate with other researchers around the world which would help in improving the quality and quantity of research in higher research and education institutes in Cambodia.

Cambodia joins Bangladesh as the most recent country to connect to TEIN3. The TEIN3 network, which is co-funded by the European Commission, extends to the South-Asian sub-continent serving more than 45 million users in over 8,000 research and academic institutions across Asia.