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Republic Polytechnic (RP) held its 1st press conference at its new Woodlands
campus yesterday, 23 May 2006 on the implementation of its Unified Wireless Network.
Press Release : 23 May 2006 - Republic Polytechnic is the first institute of higher
learning (IHL) in Asia to deploy
new wireless network technologies from Cisco Systems (Cisco) to enrich its
students’ learning experience. The Cisco Unified Wireless Network is part of a
S$3.6 million contract awarded to Singapore Computer Systems Limited (SCS), a
leading information and communications technology service provider in Asia. SCS
designed, built and commissioned a wired and wireless network infrastructure for
Republic Polytechnic’s new 20-hectare campus at Woodlands.
The highly
secure wireless network infrastructure will connect RP’s 12
“Learning Pods” (study clusters and dry labs) as well as its main
admin building, the Republic
Polytechnic Centre (RPC).
The RP campus network
comprises the following aspects:
Continuous
Connection
– Lecturers (or facilitators, as they are known in Republic Polytechnic)
can continuously stay connected to a much larger student base than traditionally
possible, giving immediate feedback to student queries. The high-speed wireless
communication network enables students to learn and communicate anytime and
anywhere within the campus in a synchronous or asynchronous mode. This mode of
mobile learning totally changes the concept of desk-bound lessons and meetings.
Paperless Organisation
– Assessments (known as Understanding Tests in Republic Polytechnic) and
problems are all completed online through laptops making the whole organisation
practically paperless. Not only is this good environmentally, but also means
administration is kept to a minimum so that money and resources can be better
deployed.
Remote Campus
– In the event of an avian flu pandemic, lessons can carry on remotely as
the organisation is paperless. Students and facilitators can access all
information from home via the internet, and virtual classroom sessions can be
conducted. Republic Polytechnic is a leader in this aspect of business
continuity in the education sector.
Application-Aware Network
– The network is intelligent enough to activate a ‘quarantine’ mode that
shuts off communication between test candidates and the Internet. At the same
time, access to the relevant network server is available until the candidates
complete the tests.
Location-Aware Network
– The network can detect, locate, isolate and activate counter-measures
to prevent rogue access points and ad-hoc wireless networks. This will deter
security and integrity breaches during online tests.
User-Aware Network
– The network will be able to locate any registered user by user name
rather than by Internet Protocol (“IP”) address. The wireless network should tie
in a username with any issued IP address so that in any security device, the
username will be apparent rather than the IP address. This will facilitate the
logging and management of clients.
* For RP Staff - Click here to view the rest of the photos from this event
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