BCNET News

April 2008

British Columbians Learn How to Eduroam

It’s true…you can now share wireless connections across universities and higher education institutions in B. C. as Eduroam makes the life of a travelling scholar easier. Gone are the days of having to remember several different passwords when travelling to another campus or institution for a conference, seminar or meeting.

After several years of research and collaboration, BCNET is pleased to announce that Eduroam is now live and enabled at higher education institutes across the province, including UBC of course. British Columbia is the first province in Canada to bring Eduroam to its researchers, faculty members and students, who can now share wireless networks at participating educational facilities by using their home institute credentials.

With the advent of online web 2.0 technologies, collaboration in learning, education and research has been taken to a new level. Getting connected is no longer just about picking up the phone. Access to the Internet and the ability to share wireless connections across institutes will continue to be an integral part of the next generation connections linking students, faculty and researchers at BC’s higher education institutes.

You can now get connected at any participating university throughout BC using Eduroam, a service for educators that enables you to access another campus’s wireless connection simply by logging on with your home credentials through secure authentication.

BCNET’s Advanced Networks Conference on April 22 & 23 at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver will be an Eduroam hotspot and a great opportunity to try out the connection. Be sure to set up your laptop before using Eduroam at the conference to ensure a problem-free connection.

The Eduroam project is another stepping stone in the path of identity management between universities. It will help increase collaborations between institutions and create a sense of belonging and ease for travelling university faculty and staff to campuses nationally and internationally.

To learn more, and to get yourself set up and ready to connect with Eduroam, visit the BCNET's Eduroam wiki. Be one of the first users to share wireless connections across BC and help open up global connections for the future!