The Remote Experimentation Laboratory (RExLab) of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) is running for FRIDA Awards 2016, which funds innovative initiatives in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The fund aims to recognize projects that have contributed, in concrete terms, to social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The university research offers a remote testing system, integrated with mobile devices supported by open digital educational content. The focus is the integration of ICT in education as a tool to increase the quality of training of students, especially in the disciplines known as STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Started in 2008, the project serves more than 5,000 students and teachers at all school levels, from public schools in Santa Catarina. The MRE is designed both for teacher training and for the integration of technology in teaching activities. The main motivations for research are, on the one hand, the lack of infrastructure in schools, represented by the low number of computers, computer labs and science, and on the other, the availability of mobile devices by students and connectivity.

The Regional Fund for Digital Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean (FRIDA) was created by LACNIC, which manages the Internet address registration in the two regions. The FRIDA Program aims to deliver this year, US$ 235,000 to ten projects in three different forms of support - awards, grants and escalations.

The Mobile Remote Experimentation (MRE) project at UFSC was selected in 2014 to participate in the Working Groups Program in Distance Education, coordinated by the Brazilian National Research and Educational Network (RNP). The program is financed by funds from the Ministry of Education, the Higher Education Personnel Improvement Coordination (CAPES).

You can vote for the Brazilian project at the FRIDA Website.