The terms "computational grid" and "grid computing" emerged during the early 1990s in the USA. The word "grid" was chosen by analogy with the electric power grid, which provides pervasive access to electrical power. Grid computing provides a similar access to processing power through the Internet.

There has been considerable progress during the last decade, both in USA and in Europe and, in response to the new challenges, the project has formed a Euro-Asia Education and Research Network in Grid computing (EA-Grid). This network consists of a series of distributed nodes (EA-Grid Centres) across China and in Europe. It develops expertise in grid computing at University level and amongst the Asian lecturers and students and has developed and delivered courses at "Master's" level in grid computing.

A training programme for Asian lectures was held in the first year of the project in Cambridge, UK. Subsequently, the modules for an MSc course in Grid Computing have been developed and tested both in the European and Asian partner Universities.

At the same time, the project has laid the foundations for a number of double degree programmes allowing Chinese students to study Grid Computing for one year at their home University and undertake a second year of study in Europe. Following successful completion of their studies they will be awarded both a Chinese and a European degree.

The EA-Grid project also organises a series of seminars and meetings to ensure that the expertise of the partnership remains at the cutting edge of developments.