Because a project of this magnitude raises significant technical and policy challenges, it is conceived as a multi-year project. Much progress is possible in the first 12 months, however, because of the groundbreaking technical progress already made by the Internet2 effort. The rapid expansion of the Internet and the WWW has had an enormous impact on the way that research is conducted. Researchers around the world interact on a timely basis using e-mail and have access to the latest research developments using document sharing and web pages. We can anticipate that the collaborative environments made possible by advanced internet technology will lead to further substantial increases in international research collaboration and productivity.
Clinical practice is another essential activity of most APRU members.
Opportunities for time-shifting, access to specialized facilities and expertise are all of clear value to APRU members. A prime example of this is represented by limited access to supercomputing resources in many APRU institutions and excess capacity in supercomputing resources in other APRU members. Another key opportunity for sharing is represented by access to library resources. Such partnerships can be leveraged to the joint benefit of the commercial partners, the APRU institutions, and the APEC nations. Education is an increasingly important component of international trade.