The Centro de Investigación Educativa AIP (CIEDU) is established as an interdisciplinary knowledge platform in Panama, committed to transforming the educational landscape through rigorous research and scientific evidence. More than a simple research center, CIEDU operates as a “think tank,” an engine for generating ideas and knowledge whose fundamental purpose is to influence public policy.
Its mission is clear: to provide decision-makers and key stakeholders with the information needed to design and implement better practices that address the real challenges of the Panamanian educational system. By disseminating its research and findings, CIEDU seeks to inspire tangible, lasting change.
As a Public Interest Association (AIP), the organization has a legal status that allows it to operate with autonomy and impartiality. This structure, which receives both public and private funding, ensures its sustainability and fosters a comprehensive vision that ensures CIEDU's work is not only high-quality but also relevant and applicable to the country's needs.
The collaboration between CIEDU and IVCISA began with an initial project focused on optimizing its data repository using Amazon EC2. This first experience laid the foundation for a relationship of trust, which culminated in the migration of the website to a new infrastructure on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. This strategic step was essential to resolve the communication and performance problems the organization was experiencing with its previous infrastructure.
The decision to migrate the website to a high-availability, scalable infrastructure aimed not only to improve communication between the website and the repository, but also to ensure that information was always accessible and that the site ran smoothly for all users.
This project, alongside IVCISA as an AWS partner, has allowed CIEDU to strengthen its mission of influencing public policy through the dissemination of knowledge. By ensuring the accessibility and performance of its platform, the organization can ensure that its research and findings reach decision-makers and the community at large effectively, thereby fulfilling one of its main strategic objectives.
Before the migration to the AWS cloud, CIEDU faced significant challenges related to communication between its website and its DSpace repository. The separate hosting infrastructure created problems that affected the user experience and the organization's ability to meet its visibility indicators.
In addition to the communication problems, the previous website was slow and sometimes had URLs that did not work correctly, which made it difficult for users to access documents.
The need to connect the repository with SENACYT's (the National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation) PRICILA portal (Portal of Institutional Repositories of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Open Literature) also became a priority. The migration alongside IVCISA, as an AWS partner, was the most suitable technical solution to ensure connectivity and compliance with the entity's requirements.
“The biggest challenge was communication. At that time, we needed a lot of priority on the repository because we had indicators to meet, but the repository wasn't communicating well with the website.”
To overcome the challenges, IVCISA proposed a robust, scalable solution based on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. The strategy was to migrate the website to a single environment, using Amazon Lightsail for hosting, Amazon EC2 for data storage, and Amazon Route 53 for domain management and DNS records. This technical consolidation significantly improved communication between the two platforms.
With the new infrastructure, CIEDU is better positioned to achieve its goal of becoming a benchmark in educational research in Panama and to continue making informed, strategic decisions for the country's future.
Thanks to the migration, CIEDU has met its visibility and access indicators, allowing its research to reach a broader audience. Although it acknowledges that the measurement of some quantitative indicators is still in development, the main goal has been the ability to maintain its focus on disseminating scientific knowledge.
“What I liked most about the process with IVCISA was the transparency, availability, and willingness. We had several very productive meetings; they allowed us to explore other possibilities, and there was a lot of collaboration throughout the process.”
