By Marina De Giorgi, GÉANT Partner Relations
The SEE Directors Forum took place, face to face, in Athens on 11 October 2023, kindly hosted by GRNET. The directors and SEE representatives from MARNET, CARNET, KREN, RASH, CYNET and GRNET joined the forum after attending the Special Interest Group for Management of Service Portfolios SIG-MSP meeting earlier on the day. The forum kicked off with an overview by Ognjen Prnjat (GRNET) on the two decades of contribution by GRNET towards regional. The forum enquired about the continuation of the latest project run (NI4OS) and learnt that its continuation is part of the recommendations included by GRNET in the latest report to the EC funder. So, great hopes for the SEE NRENs!
Mian Usman from GÉANT representing WP7 on Network and Network technologies joined the forum virtually and talked about the findings from the work package’s network evolution study workshop. Mian explained how their insight fits in the roadmap planned for the forthcoming Network CTO workshop in Amsterdam on 22-23 November 2023. Mian’s presentation stimulated questions and requests from NRENs. CARNET talked about the need for further collaboration to achieve cross border connectivity for time and frequency networks as well as quantum networks.
Tryfon Chiotis, GÉANT PMO, took over from Mian to provide a status update on GN5-1 and set the scene for GN5-2, the next iteration of the project. It’s important to remember that in the next couple of months, starting from the November General Assembly meeting, the PMO will provide all the necessary information and details for the structure, duration, activities and recruitment process for GN5-2 in order to make the SEE (and all) NRENs life as easy as possible! So, NRENs and third parties stay tuned if you intend to contribute to the next iteration of the GÉANT project.
After a short break, the forum attendees were ready for the last two presentations. Ana Alves, GÉANT CISO introduced herself and her role, illustrated what has been happening in the GEANT security field and introduced the idea of a bootcamp to support NRENs in their security efforts. Watch this space for more information!
We then tackled the ever-standing item in the agenda, SEE as a community, with my presentation on new opportunities via the GÉANT Development Fund and a recap on what I call the NRENs’ Talents opportunities including the last planned Trust and Identity Mentoring programme. Overall the interactions at the forum enable us to think more broadly about the region and how to facilitate exchanges among the different levels of expertise available. We closed the event drafting an initial plan for the side-meeting at the 2023 GÉANT Symposium in Montpellier as an opportunity to run a SEE Community Hub and we will reach out to the registered GN5-1 project participants (not only the SEE Directors) from the region to greet, meet and start building a deeper knowledge exchange and a wider collaboration platform. See you in France in December.
To get in touch with the GÉANT SEE Directors Forum, please contact: see-forum@lists.geant.org
