The National Advanced IPv6 Centre (NAv6) at Universiti Sains Malaysia started as the Network Research Group (NRG) in the School of Computer Sciences, USM in 1992, with a focus on Next Generation Network (NGN) research. NRG was established as the National Advanced IPv6 Centre of Excellence (NAv6) under the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Water, and Communications (MEWC) in 2005, after the Malaysian government recognized its expertise in pioneering IPv6 and NGN research.
The original role of NAv6 is to assist the government in spearheading the IPv6 migration and technical capacity building for the country. Subsequently, NAV6 was recognized as a Research Centre of Excellence by the USM Senate in 2008 and is currently operating as a Research Centre of Excellence under the university.
The research agenda in NAv6 has moved beyond the initial thrust of IPv6 policy formulation and network protocol migration, to focus on the application of IPv6 technologies in various current and emerging domains. IPv6 is the foundation for all of the current active research areas in NAv6, such as Industry 4.0, 5G, Internet of Things, Cybersecurity, Mission Critical Networks, and Smart Cities/Health/Agriculture, etc. The goal is to achieve sustainable Internet technology development to support an interconnected society for the future.
Concurrently, capacity building in terms of full duration postgraduate studies as well as short certification courses are conducted by NAv6 to address the need for qualified Internet technology professionals who will help drive the academic and economic needs of the nation. Masters and PhD research topics in the area of Advanced Computer Networks are offered to students interested in pursuing research into the various domains listed above. Short training and certification courses in IPv6 as well as the above mentioned areas are also provided to interested parties.