About NgREN
The Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN) is one of 15 research and education networks (RENs) under the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN). NgREN was established in 2012 by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in collaboration with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors (CVC) and Nigerian universities, with support from the World Bank. It aims to create an elaborate infrastructural backbone that links all research and educational institutions in Nigeria and connects them with other RENs across the globe for knowledge exchange.
Like all other RENs worldwide, NgREN was designed as a private network that connects education and research institutions directly to:
- Each other
- Other RENs
- The commercial or commodity Internet
At inception, NgREN covered 27 federal universities, the NUC, and the Secretariat of the CVC in Abuja. Over the years, this number has grown beyond the World Bank’s initial intervention to include all 23 World Bank-supported Centres of Excellence in the Nigerian University System. Under its original structure, the Network had a 10-member Governing Board comprising representatives from the NUC, CVC, and universities overseeing day-to-day operations.
NgREN maintains an active subscription to WACREN, which links it to the pan-European data network for the research and education community, GÉANT, and other global RENs. This subscription provides access to additional bandwidth, capacity-building programmes, and other benefits.
Objectives of NgREN
NgREN was set up with the following objectives:
- Provide more and cheaper bandwidth for member institutions.
- Establish efficient network infrastructure for resource sharing and innovation.
- Offer network services such as learning software, identity federation, hosting, and video conferencing.
- Promote linkages between the research community, industry, and government for national development.
- Leverage technology to foster innovative teaching and learning.
NgREN has been sustained beyond the initial World Bank intervention through subscriptions paid by participating universities. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need for Nigerian universities to leverage ICT for teaching and learning. Consequently, under the Second Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) project, NgREN scaled up its network to serve all 17 ACEs in Nigeria and extended its services to six Centres of Excellence under the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project.
In 2023, NgREN established last-mile connectivity to the Ondo State University of Medical Sciences and reconnected the University of Ibadan, Federal University of Technology Akure, and the University of Ilorin. Within the same year, the NUC, through NgREN, revamped its wireless network with the deployment of 95 EION wireless access points.
To ensure operational efficiency and maintain 100% uptime, NgREN deployed its High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure at Rack Centre, a Tier III data centre in Lagos. The Network was also extended to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv), and Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMWA), all implementing agencies under the SPESSE Project.
With continued support and strategic planning, NgREN has the potential to be an even greater driving force for innovation and development in Nigeria's research and education sectors.
Dr Joshua Atah
Managing Director
