One of the standout activities at the 2025 Zambia Research and Education Network (ZAMREN) Week was the Campus Network Design and Operations (CNDO) training, expertly led by Mr. Dale Smith and Ms. Anna Saine from the Network Start-up Resource Center (NSRC). The Network Start-up Resource is a key partner based at the University of Oregon in the United States of America.
The training brought together ICT professionals from ZAMREN’s member institutions to build practical skills in designing and managing reliable campus networks.
This CNDO programme covered best practices in network design, deployment, and operations. Participants engaged in hands-on sessions that included scalable campus network architectures, monitoring and troubleshooting, configuration management, and operational security.
Through guided labs and real-world case studies, attendees gained skills that they can directly apply to strengthen connectivity at their respective institutions.
One participant remarked:
“The CNDO training has given us the confidence to design and operate networks that can fully support the teaching, research, and innovation needs of our campuses.”
With years of experience in developing technical capacity across the globe, the NSRC team delivered a programme that combined deep technical knowledge with practical application. Their facilitation ensured that ZAMREN’s engineers were exposed to world-class approaches and open-source tools for managing campus networks.
Speaking during the training, the facilitators emphasized the strategic importance of well-structured campus networks:
“Robust and scalable campus networks form the foundation of any thriving research and education community. CNDO equips engineers with the knowledge to make this a reality.”
The CNDO training directly supports ZAMREN’s mission to deliver secure, cost-effective connectivity and advanced ICT services to its member institutions. By investing in technical training, ZAMREN is ensuring that universities, colleges, and research centers can sustain better networks.
