Research

Paul Patak, Prof Tony Watson and A/Prof Craig Valli with Rob Bresa

ECU and Nortel Networks give IT students a head start

Edith Cowan University (ECU) has recognised the contributions of Nortel Networks in setting up the new Unified Communications Laboratory at the School of Computer and Information Science.

Nortel's WA State Manager Rob Bresa, Solutions Consultant - Convergence and Applications Irwin Davis and Training Representative Vimaljeet Sandhu-Crawford will tour the Laboratory with Head of School of Computer and Information Science, Associate Professor Craig Valli.

Earlier this year, Nortel Networks provided nearly $200,000 of cutting edge server, telephony and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) equipment, which is an essential part of the Unified Communications Laboratory.

Multimedia over IP, VOIP and internet telephony has experienced major growth over the last few years and the technology is now readily accepted. ECU's School of Computer Information Science has restructured the Networking course and set up the new Laboratory to cater for the predicted demand for skilled graduates in this area. The new Laboratory allows students to design, configure, implement and manage a real VOIP solution, providing valuable hands-on experience.

Head of School of Computer and Information Science, Associate Professor Craig Vallli says that the partnership with Nortel has been crucial in providing a realistic work environment for students. "As VOIP takes hold over traditional telephony, demand for skilled graduates in this area will far outweigh supply," says Associate Professor Valli. "Nortel have provided us with a world class learning environment through the Unified Communications Laboratory."

Nortel's affiliation with ECU goes beyond the Computer and IT area - all staff and students benefit from the high performance secure network environment provided by Nortel both on and off campus.

In 2004, Nortel implemented ECU's Wireless Mesh network, Australia's first wide-area WiFi network, to service the needs of staff and students.

ECU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kerry Cox says the partnership with Nortel ensures students are job-ready and equipped to succeed. "The Unified Communications Laboratory provides our students with a world class learning facility and I thank Nortel for their ongoing support," he said. Nortel also contributes to research and industry projects at ECU through the Nortel Development Fund established in 2004.

Who needs language when you network?

Professor Ohstuki (Kobe University), Professor Akamatsu (Kobe Institute of Computing), Mr Spencer Brinkeroff, Dr Helen Clarke (Director of Cisco Learning Institute) and A/Prof Paul Maj

A recent article in COHESION "Improving the world standard in network education and training" highlighted the potential for international adoption of a training strategy for complex computer networks developed at ECU by Associate Professor Stanislaw Paul Maj from the School of Computing and Information Systems. It involves a diagrammatic system called State Model Diagrams (SMDs) to depict and design networks involving different devices and protocols.

Paul has undertaken a remarkable cooperative trial with Kobe University, a highly ranked university in Japan. Paul had a lecture based on the SMD method translated into Japanese which was then given by a SCIS postgraduate student Hiroko Kato as a remote on-line lecture to 20 students at Kobe. Based on this lecture these students then designed and built a network. Paul was able to assess them effectively even though they completed the exercise in Japanese. To add to the challenge, the Kobe system operated on a Linux network clearly indicating that his new method of modelling networks is also independent of the network system. When you add this to the above outcome that they can be adopted independent of written language, the potential for global adoption becomes evident. The feedback from the Japanese students was very encouraging indeed.

This interaction was fostered by a visit to ECU’s Mount Lawley campus by Professor Ohstuki (Vice chair of the Faculty of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University) and Professor Akamatsu (Kobe Institute of Computing) who were also nterested in Paul’s highly acclaimed computer laboratory design. (Paul’s efforts in this area helped him receive a Carrick Institute Citation Award for Teaching.)

Article written by Dr Greg Maguire