TNC25: Brighton, UK | 9-13 June 2025

SESSIONS

In order to attend the Monday and/or Friday side meeting(s), it is mandatory to purchase a ‘Side Meeting Pass’. At the moment, this pass can be obtained while purchasing a full conference pass for the TNC conference. A separate pass for these Side Meeting will be made available later in the year.

TNC25 Opening Plenary

11.00 - 12.30 | Concert Hall

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Description

To follow

Global Connectivity

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

This session will shine a light, maybe even a laser, on the global connectivity landscape, unwrapping how different world regions interconnect today and how that might need to evolve into the future. Delivering connectivity and building networks within a single country is business as usual for an NREN, but in this session we will learn about the challenges of deploying connectivity between continents, under the sea, and through some of the most challenging environments on earth. 3 unique perspectives from 3 different organisations will offer a fascinating insight into what it takes to continually enhance capability and keep research and education traffic flowing across the globe.

Chair

  • Neil Shewry

Presentations

Keeping the research data flowing across the global R&E network pipes

Connectivity between europe and asia has grown of the past decade. The NRENs in europe and asia have worked together to provide a high speed (multiple 100Gbps links), resilience and trusted network connectivity between europe and asia. The presentation will cover how the resilience was developed and engineered. The resilience was truely tested in 2024, where there were multiple cable-cuts.

Speaker:
  • Bu Sung Lee (Singapore advanced research and education network)


Redefining Global Connectivity: The Next-Generation Submarine Cable System for Research and Education Networks

Submarine cable systems are the backbone of global digital infrastructure, enabling connectivity for billions of users and supporting critical sectors like research, education, and international collaboration. This presentation will present Polar Connect, an ambitious, high-impact connectivity initiative that aims to bridge Europe and East Asia through a high-speed, low-latency submarine cable across the Arctic. While the cable will significantly benefit research and education (R&E) communities, it is not merely a technical or research-oriented endeavor. Rather, it is a critical infrastructure that addresses the increasing need for strategic digital autonomy for Europe and our allies.

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How to build an Internet sub-marine cable?

Our presentation will provide an insider's view of the efforts required to built a nearly 9,000-kilometer-long submarine Internet cable with 21 landing points in the Mediterranean.
This non-technical session will delve into the multifaceted process of constructing a submarine cable, providing an insider's view of the efforts required to create the digital infrastructure we use daily.

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Wisdom and Strategy

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

While change is constant and informed change is vital, we cannot look to the future without understanding our past and our present. In this session we will delve into three core subjects for NRENs: ITSM, Network Architecture and Strategic Design. Our speakers from Switch, Jisc and Sikt will share their wisdom & experience and explain how it has helped their present and future, and how it can help you too!

Chair

  • Brian Nisbet (HEAnet)

Presentations

It's ITSM, Jim, But Not as We Know it: De-siloing an NREN with service management.

It's 2025. Switch is 38 years old. Teams have grown with a lot of autonomy, unique processes, and tools. While this structure basically works, delivering across boundaries is hard as complexity expands and the need for clearly demonstrated compliance increases. IT Service Management is not a topic to set pulses racing with excitement yet it became a surprising useful approach to build bridges across the organisation.
This is a story about throwing away a formal project to focus on grassroots engagement, organisational design principles and new ITSM tooling and processes to glue Switch together.

Speakers:


What's going through the head of a network architect?

This will be a quick jaunt through some of the many factors that make up a network architecture, and the environment that we operate in, from the fibre in the ground to the regulatory environment, both now and where it might be in five years’ time.

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The Role of Strategic Design in Shaping Feide's Future

The talk showcases how NRENs can enhance their effectiveness by integrating their technical expertise with other disciplines. We provide a concrete example with Feide, the Norwegian identity federation, illustrating how the application of design principles and expertise contributed to the creation of its product strategy. This cross-disciplinary approach can offer valuable insights and potential strategies for NRENs as they navigate their own future challenges. From our presentation, we hope the audience will take away:

1. An understanding of how inclusive work with customers and partners in developing a product strategy can help stakeholders see the bigger picture and contribute to a more holistic approach to problem-solving.
2. An appreciation of the essential role that product strategy plays in creating shared understanding of collective value creation goals, thereby fostering unity and collaboration.
3. An insight into how a robust product strategy forms a solid foundation for effective goal-setting (OKR) and prioritization in daily operations, streamlining processes, and enhancing productivity.

Speaker:


Digital Inclusion

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Nicole Harris (GÉANT)

Presentations

Cybersecurity in Schools: On Wednesdays We Wear Pink Hats

As digitalization accelerates, so do cyber threats, highlighting the need for diverse talent in cybersecurity. ZoomIn4PinkHats - ZI4PH project, funded by the GÉANT Innovation Programme 2024, addressed these challenges through gamification, mentorship, and peer-to-peer learning methods. This presentation will highlight activities, research and project results conducted over six months in Croatian schools, focusing on bridging the workforce and gender gap in cybersecurity. This initiative would hopefully inspire shaping a more inclusive and resilient cybersecurity future, fostering diverse talent and innovation in the field.

Speakers:


Digital inclusion: collaborative approaches in changing times

This presentation will demonstrate how a collaborative approach can drive digital accessibility in higher education and research. By uniting diverse stakeholders, we can leverage expertise and resources to overcome challenges and achieve a more inclusive digital landscape. With a focus on changing global legislation and the impact of rapidly evolving technology, the presenters will explore how we can drive innovation, avoid legal risk, and empower everyone to independently fulfil their potential.

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Brighter Together - Stronger Together: The Leadership Equation of Diversity, Inclusion, Psychological Safety & Social Conscience

Following on from her highly successful TNC24 presentation where Teresa addressed the headline issues of leadership and culture, this TNC25 presentation will take delegates deeper into the leadership equation and consider how the critical elements of diversity, inclusion, psychological safety, and social conscience intersect to ensure ongoing cultural success within our NREN community. This session will not only inform delegates about the critical aspects and emerging trends but equip them with avenues to maximise the growth of their people and culture, to ensure a secure and successful future. The presentation will also showcase the NREN Global Leadership Development Programme.

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Curious About AI

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Chris de loof (Belnet)

Presentations

Developing HAWAT: An Agentic AI Assistant for Network Troubleshooting

HAWAT (Heuristic Analysis With Adaptive Troubleshooting) is an agentic AI assistant for network troubleshooting. This presentation explores the development of a chatbot system designed to interface with network hardware, leveraging recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and Reasoning and Acting (ReAct) agentic frameworks. Our system demonstrates how agentic AI can autonomously interpret network conditions, execute commands, and provide network administrators with natural language interfaces to network infrastructure. We will detail how the system was built and present pre recorded demos of the chatbot in action.

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AI4LAM: Advancing AI in Libraries, Archives, and Museums through Collaboration with the Geant Community

The AI for Libraries, Archives, and Museums (AI4LAM) community is an international, participatory network dedicated to advancing the use of artificial intelligence within the cultural heritage sector. The community is at the forefront of developing and maintaining cutting-edge AI tools and services tailored for heritage institutions to better provide access, management and (re)use of digitized and digitally born content by supporting collaboration, innovation, and sharing of knowledge in the field of AI for institutions worldwide.

AI4LAM's commitment to openly share and provide access to knowledge aligns with Open Science principles to make scientific research more transparent, accessible, and collaborative. The partnership between AI4LAM and the GÉANT community represents a unique opportunity to advance the use of AI in LAM. By working together, we can build a more innovative, secure, and collaborative future.

Speaker:
  • Ines Vodopivec (Assist. prof. dr. Ines Vodopivec (presenter), Vice Dean at Nova University’s Faculty of Slovenian and International Studies, Librarian Councillor, Managing Director of AI4LAM, Europeana Network Association Management Board Member)


FedXAI4DNS: Explainable AI for DNS Security in Privacy-aware NREN Federations

Despite their promising results in cybersecurity applications, Machine Learning (ML) models have seen limited adoption within large-scale networks (e.g. NRENs). Organisations are reluctant to share their data in fear of compromising end-user privacy, thus representative datasets to train accurate ML classifiers are usually not available. Moreover, complex black-box ML classifiers are not intrinsically explainable, hence network engineers are reluctant to deploy them. Federated Learning (FL) and eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques have been suggested as remedies. FL enables collaborating organisations to jointly train privacy-aware classifiers without exchanging sensitive data, whereas XAI suggests methods for justifying configurations of complex black-box models. We present FedXAI4DNS, an awarded project of the GÉANT Innovation Programme 2024. Our work employs ML to detect malignant Domain Name System (DNS) traffic produced by Domain Generation Algorithms (DGAs); these are widely employed to establish communications between compromised hosts (bots) and their controllers (botmasters) within academic and enterprise networks. Specifically, we build and pilot deep neural network classifiers (Multi-Layer Perceptrons - MLPs) that accurately differentiate between legitimate and malicious domain names, effectively blocking botnet communications and stopping the propagation of malevolent activities. Our approach accounts for privacy concerns in multi-domain environments via FL, whereas SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP), a prominent XAI technique, is used to interpret our federated classifiers in a model-agnostic and post-hoc manner. Dashboards are also developed to facilitate visualisation of the learning dataset characteristics. The experimental evaluation of our schema relies on learning datasets widely used for DNS research purposes, specifically the DGArchive repository for DGA names and the Tranco list for legitimate (non-DGA) ones. We employ SHAP-based eXplainable AI (XAI) analysis to evaluate feature contributions and interactions in training and operating binary MLP classifiers. These architectures are tailored in terms of the Federated Learning (FL) paradigm to assess their overall model accuracy compared to non-federated approaches. Our analysis demonstrates that FL and XAI are promising technologies for the collaborative detection of malicious DNS traffic within multi-domain networking environments based on interpretable ML classifiers. Cyber security and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are topics of major importance to the TNC audience. We expect that our work will attract engineers from NRENs, Network Operation Centres (NOCs) and universities who are highly interested in AI applications for network security. FedXAI4DNS aims at expediting ML adoption within collaborative environments (e.g. NRENs & GÉANT). Specifically, we hope to raise awareness of XAI methods within the NREN ecosystem that would interpret complex ML configurations in human-friendly ways. Finally, we expect that our FL-based work will motivate NRENs to form synergies that will enable them to securely tune accurate classifiers without raising privacy concerns

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Innovate, Collaborate or Detonate

16.00 - 17.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

As technology evolves rapidly, commercial vendors sometimes introduce services that parallel those in the research and education space—often in ways that don’t align with our usual practices. These advancements can present exciting opportunities for innovation, a chance to collaborate and influence development, or a potential threat to existing services. This cross-discipline session will explore how the community has responded to three emerging technologies, examining both the risks and opportunities they bring.

Chair

  • Guy Halse (TENET South Africa)

Presentations

Balancing big tech demands, community & values

How to change a balance on a slack chord towards a brighter, safer future together? How can we bring our community together to have enough leverage in a big tech ruled world? We are striving for a brighter, safer, privacy-friendly future together and using the newest tech, with the lowest price, public values and a good feeling to top it. Companies are pushing and our members are challenging us as well. We are in a squeeze. In this talk we share our learnings, but it is especially a shoutout for cooperation. Who wants to join our movement?

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Risks of Distributed Digital Identity in Education and Research Wallets

Join us for an insightful presentation on the risks of distributed digital identity in research and education wallet. We will explore financial, legal, strategic, and security challenges, analyze market trends, regulatory hurdles, governance complexities, and data security concerns, and discuss effective risk assessment and mitigation strategies. Designed for professionals shaping the future of digital identity and distributed solutions, this session offers a global perspective with valuable insights for both regional and international stakeholders. Don't miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding and engage in a critical discussion on shaping the future of distributed digital identity.

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OpenRoaming 101 - A whole new world of Wi-Fi roaming

Description: This talk introduces the roaming consortium "OpenRoaming", with a particular focus on highlighting the main similarities and differences compared to eduroam.

Audience: The talk addresses all participants with an interest in Wireless Networks in general. For those who bring a background in eduroam operation, some slides will be more meaningful than for others, but the talk will be carefully designed to also pick up newcomers and walk-ins.

Abstract:

(title) OpenRoaming 101 - A whole new world of Wi-Fi roaming (/title)

A new Wi-Fi roaming consortium has emerged over the last few years: OpenRoaming, a consortium under the shepherdship of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA). It aims to provide a holistic roaming fabric, in several dimensions:

For Identity Providers, it allows participation for a number of user groups (e.g. IoT devices, R&E users, Hospitality, and also the general public).

For hotspots, it allows operating both free and paid-for usage, giving operators the freedom to welcome any subset of possible identities as provided by the Identity Providers.

For the roaming backend, it aims for a proxy-free interconnect without gate-keepers; but allows for proxies to reduce complexities in the individual site setups.

Similarities to the eduroam roaming consortium are plenty (mostly: on the technical side), but so are the differences (mostly: on the administrative and business development side). It can be difficult for a newcomer to navigate through all the possibilities of OpenRoaming. Especially eduroam operators, be they Service Providers, Identity Providers, or National Roaming Operators, may wonder what their desired positioning towards, and potential participation in OpenRoaming could be.

This talk will shed light on the foundations of OpenRoaming and juxtapose many of the service elements to existing eduroam ones. It will give clear answers on what to expect when OpenRoaming, and where the major decision points are.

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A Day in the Life of an NREN: Reflections, challenges, and possibilities

16.00 - 17.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

What is a day in the life of an NREN like? Do we all share the same daily grind? Are differences keeping us apart or are we brighter together?

In this session, 3 NRENs reveal their daily reality. They reflect on organisational culture, unravel the challenges ahead for NREN collaboration and question if the world needs more NRENs at all.

Chair

  • Dawn Ng

Presentations

A bright future together with GÉANT 2.0

The GÉANT community faces several major challenges and there is currently no community consensus on how to deal with these. This talk aims to present these challenges to a wide audience to support discussion at all levels of the GÉANT community about possible ways forward.

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Does the World Need More NRENs?

National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) have played a crucial role in fostering collaboration, innovation, and connectivity in research and education. However, the question remains: does the world need more NRENs, or should efforts focus on optimizing existing ones? What have we done, what have we not done and what do we need to do? This presentation critically examines the current state of NRENs, assessing their impact in addressing challenges. Drawing on case studies from existing NRENs, the session will highlight how they have tackled specific challenges while identifying areas for future improvement.

Speaker:
  • Joel Omiat (Research and Education Network for Uganda (RENU))


“It’s fine” – a story of NREN culture

A look at the culture of NRENs from the perspective of how it can interact with and affect personal life. By looking into personal stories of emotion and trauma this talk brings to life how a good organisational culture can play out in daily life, how it affects individuals performance and wellbeing, and why NRENs are exemplars for simply getting these things right.

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Working As One

16.00 - 17.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

NRENs are built on the power of collaboration, and true impact comes when we align technical expertise with shared purpose, global cooperation, and collective action. This session highlights three unique ways NRENs are working as one to deliver more than the sum of their parts. We’ll see how AARNet and Cybera leverage time zones for seamless security operations, how SURF’s shared vision strengthens strategy and community, and how 39 NRENs simplify cloud adoption through OCRE2024. Join us to see collaboration at scale in action!

Chair

  • Joost Gadellaa (SURF)

Presentations

From the beach to the snow: delivering a collaborative SOC which spans the globe

AARNet, the Australian NREN, has been operating a Managed SOC service for Australian universities since 2020. They have joined forces with Cybera, the R&E network for Alberta Canada, to assist them in standing up a SOC in Canada following the same model. This brings immediate results: 24x7 operation, thanks to the complementary timezones. Longer term, further benefits are expected: economies of scale, shared engineering teams, staff retention and engagement, and rich threat intelligence sharing to protect our sector. This talk will share the challenges and successes of this journey, and the future opportunities.

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How a shared heartbeat ignites a purposeful Service Portfolio

The NREN community excels in technical innovation. True impact requires more than technical expertise though. Safeguarding autonomy, fostering public values, and embracing the benefits of collaboration must be part of a NREN’s DNA.

In this talk, we explore SURF’s journey to develop a shared story and common purpose as key drivers for growth and resilience. We show how this process became the foundation for long-term decision-making, focus, and prioritization.

By combining insights from both service portfolio management and corporate communications, we demonstrate how this approach can empower NREN’s to align their values, streamline their processes, and prepare for future challenges. This while ensuring everyone feels part of a shared heartbeat driving innovation in research and education.

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A Bright Future in the Cloud – Unique Collaboration on Cloud Procurement

The presentation "A Bright Future in the Cloud – Unique Collaboration on Cloud Procurement" at TNC25 will showcase GÉANT’s OCRE2024 initiative, a pan-European cloud procurement framework. Launched in February 2025, it unites 39 NRENs and approximately 25,000 institutions, securing cloud services worth up to €1.7 billion. With 416 framework agreements, it simplifies procurement, ensuring compliance, security, sustainability, and AI readiness. The session will cover outcomes, key benefits, tender goals, the working processes, and adoption insights, aiming to empower R&E institutions to leverage this innovative, large-scale collaboration. Presenters include experts from HEAnet and GÉANT.

Speakers:


Fast & Furious: Research Edition

16.00 - 17.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Anca Hienola (Finnish Meteorological Institute)

Presentations

The EUMETCast Terrestrial service over the R&E networks

As weather phenomena become more extreme and more frequent, weather forecasts increasingly rely on larger volumes of Near Real-Time (NRT) data for their complex models. Access to affordable and reliable networks for high volumes of data via EUMETCast Terrestrial has become a necessity expressed by many consumers of EUMETSAT data. Trusting GÉANT to deliver critical data to the meteorological community enhances the integrity and accessibility of this information.We describe here the three main service components of EUMETCast and how the service will evolve in future.

Speakers:


Accelerating the Event Horizon Telescope's Speed to Science: Leveraging High-Speed Networks for Early Data Validation

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is an international collaboration of 11 telescopes and two correlator sites capturing groundbreaking images of black holes. Traditionally, data collected during observations is stored on physical disks and shipped to processing facilities, causing delays in confirming telescope configurations. This new precheck demonstration leverages high-speed research and education (R&E) networks to transfer a subset of data in near-real time to MIT Haystack Observatory. This enables rapid validation of site setups, reducing the risk of errors during critical campaigns. International Networks at Indiana University, in collaboration with global partners will demonstrate real time data processing and fringe detection to highlight the impact of advanced networking and collaboration on scientific discovery.

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Fibre Optic Sensing - A Disruptive Technology on top of GÉANT Network Infrastructure

Fibre Optic Sensing (FOS) exploits fibres’ exceptional sensitivity to subtle changes in acoustics, strain, pressure, and temperature. Integrator instruments, AI assisted signal analytics and event fingerprinting, can monitor earthquakes, tsunamis, global environment, marine health, critical infrastructure, ocean vessels movements and more, in real time. The massive volumes of nontrivial real-time data pose significant data management challenges and has serious national security implications. To address this, a SUBMERSE project White Paper outlines a FOS Collaborative Framework, based on a "Trusted Research Environment (TRE)" approach, which will be elaborated in this talk.

Speaker:
  • Rene Belso (Danish e-infrastructure Consortium (DeiC))


Big Data Works

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Mihály Héder (SZTAKI)

Presentations

Unlocking the Potential of Network Monitoring Data for Scientific Research

The Brazilian National Research and Education Network (RNP) provides internet connectivity services throughout Brazil, serving universities, hospitals, and research institutes. With its extensive infrastructure, RNP consistently generates and stores a significant amount of monitoring and performance data. In recent years, RNP has developed tools to make this data accessible to researchers, aiming to strengthen and advance research initiatives. This presentation will address two central questions: (i) In what ways can monitoring data from NRENs drive scientific research? and (ii) What actions can we take to foster scientific research using this data? In 2024, RNP’s Network Monitoring Technical Committee (CT-MON) embarked on a series of targeted studies and actions to explore and answer these questions. Our presentation will share key findings from this work, which have contributed to answering these questions and demonstrating the value of these initiatives.



It's all trash or not?

In security, a blackhole is a place in the infrastructure where incoming traffic is silently discarded without informing the source, therefore the traffic does not reach its destination. The blackhole traffic, or otherwise called unwanted traffic, can be considered as worthless traffic - trash. However, this is far from being the case. That traffic may include interesting attack indicators or even information about incorrect technical configurations that may be used for reconnaissance, so finding attack vectors on a new victim.
The takeaway of this presentation is to raise awareness about the importance of careful configurations of devices by showing practical examples and to show some mitigation techniques to properly configure devices such that your config does not talk trash!

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HL-LHC network challenges

HL-LHC, the upgrade of the LHC accelerator coming on-line in 2030, will generate a much larger amount of data then today, which will heavily impact the load of the R&E networks. This presentation will describe the computing model, how data will move in the R&E networks, the major challenges that the R&E community will face and how we are preparing to tackle them.

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Demystifying Space, Time, and Bureaucracy

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Zacharias Törnblom (SUNET)

Presentations

Why Your Wristwatch Won’t Cut It: The Story Behind Precision Timing Demystified

Ever wondered why your wristwatch isn’t quite enough for cutting-edge science? Time and Frequency Transfer (TFT) is the invisible force behind everything from radio telescopes to subatomic particle physics—but what is it, really? In this accessible, jargon-free talk, we’ll break down time, frequency, and how they’re transferred over fiber—without the technical deep dive. Whether you’re curious or just tired of nodding along in meetings, this session will give you a clear understanding of why TFT matters and how NRENs are shaping its future.

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From Regulation to Innovation: What the EU AI Act Means for EdTech

This session will unpack the EU AI Act and its critical role in shaping the future of AI in education, offering the TNC25 community actionable insights into navigating this regulatory landscape. As AI becomes essential to educational technology, compliance with the Act’s high-risk classifications and ethical standards is crucial for building trust and protecting learners. We’ll discuss how different stakeholders can collaborate to integrate these principles into AI development and deployment. Through examples from our EdTech development, attendees will gain practical strategies to embed ethical AI principles that support pedagogy, enhance trust, and transform educational environments responsibly.

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Navigating the data storm

The evolution of the digital infrastructures is a never-ending journey, aimed to better and better serve their users, and whenever possible to pre-empt their needs. But what are the current and future scenarios that the NREN community is facing? What are the factors that are playing a role in shaping our environment, when seen from the point of view of someone that deals with our user community needs as his day-to-day job? This talk will try to raise the attention of our community on these matters and what could be their impact on the NREN community.

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Unlocking Team Power

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Julie Menzies (CANARIE)

Presentations

The power of right competence: setting a new path in network talent management

This talk will delve into the pressing need for redefining talent management in the networking sector, amidst escalating demand for skilled professionals and intense competition. It will underscore the importance of nurturing existing talent, fostering lifelong learning and adaptability, rather than merely attracting new talent. Strategies for bridging the gap between education and workforce requirements will be discussed, along with initiatives to engage the youth for sustainable growth. The talk will highlight the lessons learned from our journey and the need for a novel approach to talent management.

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Leveraging Individuals with Non-Traditional Education Paths to Build the Next-Generation Cyberinfrastructure Workforce

The need to create and maintain a cyberinfrastructure workforce staffed with professionals is challenging; finding and retaining talent is highly competitive, and requires careful thought on ways to cultivate and encourage individuals with highly sought after skills. The Technology Training for Non-Traditionals (TNTs) program is an exploratory effort funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) that seeks to increase the cyberinfrastructure workforce membership with participants from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and those who have followed non-traditional paths to their chosen field. TNTs targets economically disadvantaged participants with non-standard education and experience backgrounds to join technology fields. This experience will create a future that is brighter together through mentoring, hands-on experience with advanced networks and systems, and leveraging a broad community of supportive alumni and advocates. This talk will focus on the initial outcomes of the TNTs experience at the SC24 conference in Atlanta GA, and how their non-traditional educational experiences led them into careers in technology.

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It's all in the cards! A practical and fun tool to help you understand what motivates your team members

Taking learnings from the Centre for Talent Retention this session will provide an overview of a hands-on tool that captures the variables impacting why people join, engage, and stay in organizations. Starting with a card game, the presenter will walk attendees through three simple steps to move managers away from the ineffective How's it going? to increased engagement and productivity.

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Digital ID Plumbing: Making Student Access Flow Across Borders

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Ann West (Internet2)

Presentations

A common IAM solution for Higher Education in Norway

A presentation of the process and the hurdles to roll out a IAM solution for multiple institutions in Nowary's higher education, and the findings proving that the concept is valid.

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Lightning Talks

16.00 - 17.30 | Concert Hall

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Quantum

16.00 - 17.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Ilias Papastamatiou (GRNET – National Infrastructures for Research and Technology)

Presentations

Quantum-Safe Communication at Scale: Leveraging MDI-QKD for On-Demand Key Distribution

As we approach the day when quantum computers could potentially decrypt our communications in an instant, securing our data transmissions against such attacks becomes crucial. This presentation will demonstrate how BeQCI, a consortium of which Belnet is a key member, plans to leverage the latest advancements in MDI-QKD to deliver on-demand quantum-secure keys across a mesh network.

Speaker:


SURF's QKD testbed deployment

This presentation focuses on the deployment of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) within the infrastructure of national research and education networks (NRENs), addressing the growing need for quantum-safe communication as quantum computing advances. It highlights the integration of QKD technologies, including DV and MDI-QKD solutions from various vendors, into a real-world testbed to assess scalability and operational feasibility. The session will explore the technical challenges of deploying QKD, such as network integration, distance limitations, and vendor interoperability, and share lessons from the SURF QKD testbed deployment. Attendees will gain insights into the potential for NRENs to lead the transition to quantum-secure networks, ensuring the protection of sensitive research and education data against future quantum threats

Speaker:


On Quantum-Secure Layer 3 (IP) and Layer 2 Networking

As long-term GEANT partners (Latnet/Sigmanet), the authors present a new complementary initiative quantum communications. An experimental QKD technology and its integration into conventional communication networks, including PQC, have been developed and tested. Authors present/discuss the experience of national QKD backbone deployment at the conference. The project is realized in collaboration with partners from Latvia's state sector and industry.

Speaker:
  • Sergejs Kozlovics (Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of University of Latvia)


Lightning Talks

11.00 - 12.30 | Concert Hall

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Bright Cables

11.00 - 12.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Ieva Muraškienė (NORDUnet)

Presentations

Technology and scientific opportunities with submarine cables - with focus on Polar Connect

Emerging technologies utilizing fiber optic submarine cables present novel research opportunities across diverse scientific fields. Studies have also shown considerable operational and security advantages, not only for the cable itself, but also in its vicinity. This presentation will provide a review of several relevant technologies and their uses, particularly highlighting their significance for Polar Connect.

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Building a community: A bright light from below the waves

This talk is about three interlinked stories about how a community was formed within our midst. The stories concern the SUBMERSE project, a novel EC funded research project which aims to turn our network from a data mover to a data generator. The project didn't start as a solid concept, rather is was an evolution of an idea, iterated over time, through the hard work and dedication of multiple people. Now with 25, soon to be 26 project partners, the SUBMERSE community continues to grow. This is a call to action to join this growing community at an opportune moment in the evolution of the concept.

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Enlightening the Submarine Cable: Unlocking Ocean Insights with SUBMERSE

In the depths of our oceans, a technological revolution is unfolding. Fiber optic submarine cables are evolving from mere data highways to dynamic environmental sensors, unlocking unprecedented scientific opportunities. SUBMERSE harnesses Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) to monitor marine life, seismic activity, and vessel traffic in real-time, enhancing research and infrastructure security. Our solution streamlines data collection, providing actionable insights that enhance environmental understanding and infrastructure resilience. Together, we support sustainable development and advance scientific discovery, creating a network that generates valuable insights for the benefit of all.

Speakers:


Taming Your Infrastructures

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

This session will explore key aspects of infrastructure orchestration in NRENs, focusing on automation and management strategies. Topics that will be discussed include simulation and monitoring of network changes, orchestration practices within Europe’s leading research networks, highlighting successful implementation and the lessons learned. Finally, we’ll try to outline future initiatives and advancements in orchestration for NRENs, offering a forward-looking perspective on emerging technologies and strategies. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how orchestration can enhance network efficiency, reliability, and scalability. The session will also encourage discussions on the role of automation in shaping the future of collaborative research infrastructures. This session promises to offer a comprehensive view of orchestration in the context of scientific networking, with a focus on innovation and future trends.

Chair

  • Tomasz Szewczyk (PSNC)

Presentations

Orchestrating the GÉANT packet layer network

Our presentation will highlight the procedural changes made at GÉANT to enable the packet layer migration of all routing equipment in the GÉANT backbone network. We will highlight the importance of working in cross-disciplinary teams, the challenges that come with this and how we have overcome them. We will present how both backbone and NREN-facing services are migrated via the GÉANT Automation Platform (GAP), including an overview of the architecture of the GAP platform, as well as an in-depth explanation on how migration workflows are put into practice. The presentation will also include an update of the status of the network, and of the transition to new Nokia platform. We believe this will be of interest for the TNC audience, as we will show not only how GÉANT is migrating its network services, but also how we are achieving this within a team combining expertise across multiple domains and by using a software platform developed in cooperation with our community.

Speakers:


CaaS and Moodi: Simulation and Monitoring of Network Changes

The GÉANT Orchestration and Automation Team (GOAT) presents 2 of its tools, aimed primarily at network operators, but also suitable for academic environments: Containerlab-as-a-Service, a management stack to easily replicate production-like networking environments; and Moodi, a real-time telemetry tool that provides on-demand telemetry with dynamic dashboards and custom metrics.

Speakers:


Getting Ready For A Crisis

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Description

The session will aim to equip you with practical and actionable steps to get ready for a crisis in the cybersecurity field. We’ll start with looking at an example where practical cybersecurity and (cyber-)security education come together to create an innovative security education service. We’ll continue by sharing insights in developing a method for Cyber Risk Assessment, enhancing risk assessment capabilities within the research and education ecosystem. We will also explore key Marketing and Communications strategies for managing crises such as network outages and cybersecurity incidents, helping to mitigate reputational damage and foster resilience resilience in today’s challenging digital landscape.

Chair

  • Kristine Andersone (Mrs)

Presentations

LuCySe4RE - A security education framework for R&E in Luxembourg

Luxembourg Cybersecurity 4 Research & Education (LuCySe4RE) or LuCy in short, is a two-fold cybersecurity project funded by the European commission and is a perfect example how practical cybersecurity and (cyber-)security education join forces to provide a new security education service to the Luxembourgish research and education community (and beyond). In this presentation we will show the educational perspective of the LuCy project and the security education outcomes of the first year.

Speaker:


Method for Cyber Risk Assessment, developing risk assessment capabilities in NRENs

Sharing RNP Brazil's experience in creating a method for Cyber Risk Assessment, developing risk assessment capabilities in the research and education ecosystem.

Speaker:


Marcom in Crisis Management: Communicating NREN Network Outages, Cybersecurity Incidents, and Service Disruptions

My presentation outlines on how National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) can effectively manage communication during crises such as network outages, cybersecurity incidents, and service disruptions by using Marketing and Communications (Marcom) strategies. It emphasizes the importance of timely, strategic messaging to maintain stakeholder trust and minimize reputational damage, providing a framework for developing a crisis communication plan tailored to NREN needs. The session will cover essential components like message templates, coordination between teams, and special considerations for cybersecurity incidents, while offering practical guidance on using digital tools for stakeholder engagement. It will also highlight the proactive use of communication to shape public perception and turn crises into opportunities for building resilience and trust, aligning with the TNC25 theme of "Brighter Together."

Speaker:


If You Do Something, Say Something

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Renato Furter (SWITCH)

Presentations

Effective Stakeholder Engagement for NREN Sustainability: Experiences from RENU

NREN sustainability relies on effective stakeholder engagement. Drawing from RENU’s experiences, this presentation explores strategies to build trust, secure partnerships, and expand impact. Aligned with TNC's 'Brighter Together' theme, it offers actionable insights to strengthen relationships, ensure sustainability, and drive inclusive digital transformation in an evolving, competitive environment.

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In The Field Stories: Celebrating a Decade of Global NREN Collaboration

This session celebrates the 10th anniversary of In The Field Stories, a platform that has united the global Research and Education Network community through stories of collaboration and innovation. Reflecting on a decade of impact, the session will explore the blog’s journey and future potential. Attendees will gain insights into its evolution, practical storytelling techniques, and a shared vision for shaping the next chapter of this inspiring tradition.

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Communication Plan for ICT Nerds

You are doing amazing work, but are you communicating it effectively? Many ICT professionals focus on their projects without prioritising how to share their results and achievements. This presentation challenges the “work in silence” mindset and demonstrates the value of strategic communication.

Speaker:


Knock Knock, Who's There?

14.00 - 15.30 | Brighton Dome

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Chair

  • Jeroen Wijenbergh (GÉANT)

Presentations

Researcher Identity – It’s All About Attributes, Not Authentication

This presentation explores how the Australian Access Federation (AAF) worked with the CADRE project to streamline access to over 1,000 social science datasets. The project used REMS and CILogon to implement workflows based around the 5-Safes principles to manage access to sensitive datasets. Attendees will learn how leveraging federations and authoritative attribute sources (e.g. ORCiD) can enhance research data access, streamline approvals, and simplify compliance. The session will also cover key challenges, solution components, and the next steps for CADRE’s 2025 launch.

Speakers:


Token based authorisation - the key to the future of High Energy Physics computing

Authentication and authorisation for the High Energy Physics computing grid infrastructure has been based on X.509 certificates since its inception in the early 2000s. In recent years an emphasis has been placed on modernising the stack, facilitating integration with external cloud infrastructure and improving usability and security - all of which have naturally led to a transition to JWT tokens over OAuth2 and OIDC. Important questions are emerging from the operational experience of using tokens - particularly finding an appropriate balance between operations and security. We aim to solve these problems by working together with the wider TNC community (though projects such as AARC-TREE) and complete the migration to token workflows in the coming years. We will share the vision and progress so far.

Speaker:


TNC25 Closing Plenary

16.00 - 17.00 | Concert Hall

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