Brighter Together: TNC25 closes after an amazing week in Brighton

TNC25, the biggest TNC yet with a record 900+ attendees from 72 nations, closed today after a packed week of sessions, Lightning Talks, BoFs, side meetings, Community Hub collaborations, and a new-for-2025 TNC Exchange which also saw silent disco presentations from our partners right in the midst of the TNC Exchange.

And who can forget the Conference Dinner hosted by Jisc on Brighton’s Palace Pier, complete with rollercoasters, dodgem cars, and the UK’s famous fish & chips?

Reflecting on our collaborative community

As this amazing week came to an end, GÉANT CEO Lise Fuhr spoke passionately in today’s closing plenary about the GÉANT community, about the scale of our projects and what we can achieve when we coordinate deeply and act collectively, and about our impact, reminding us all how “we support thousands of researchers, educators, and students in their work every day, across disciplines and domains. Economically, we offer high value at low cost, with returns that ripple outward across industries and regions. And socially, our inclusive, trusted model empowers public institutions, reinforces academic freedom, and supports the digital rights of millions. This is the broader picture — one that makes our work essential to the future of an open, autonomous Europe.”

 This conference has heard a lot about digital transformation, and here Lise adds “it is no longer a vision of the future — it is happening now, and we are at the forefront. Picture a river delta: a great current splitting into many more, creating new channels and nourishing fertile lands. That’s how digital transformation works — it breaks open rigid structures and allows for innovation to take root in diverse ways. Through our work in areas like cable sensing, Time and Frequency networking, and investigating areas such as Quantum Key Distribution, we’re building the channels of the future. These are no longer experimental technologies — they are emerging realities that demand readiness and resilience.”

And, bringing her talk to an end with the questions of ‘who are we?’ and ‘what is our identity?’ Lise stated: “We are a community of capability, purpose, and public trust. We do not define ourselves by a single service or a single role, but by how we bring people together to advance something greater than themselves. Our NRENs, our projects, our services; they all point to the same mission: to support science, empower education, and serve society and make the world a better place.”

Truly, Brighter Together.

The next item of the plenary was a panel discussion, bringing together global leaders Amber McEwen of REANNZ, Francis Lee of SingAREN, Guy Halse of TENET, and Inder Monga of ESnet to address questions around what our interconnected world of research and education should look like from 2025 and beyond? The discussion explored how the shared principles of our community can be preserved amid rapid technological and social change across the globe, and examined the evolving role of public R&E, and how diverse world regions can shape their digital futures in mutually beneficial ways.

Following this was another illustration of how close our global community is: Cathrin Stöver of GÉANT paid touching tribute to a dear friend of this community, Dr Boubakar Barry, who died unexpectedly in September 2024 at the age of 65, leaving a hole in our community and our hearts. Boubakar was CEO of our partner in Western and Central Africa, WACREN and Cathrin summed up everybody’s thoughts with her closing remark, “I miss Boubakar, but I know that he will be with us as long as we remember him.”

Thank you to the Programme Committee!

 Next, Ieva Muraskiene, Chair of the TNC25 Programme Committee joined the stage to thank the PC members for their enormous efforts: “A conference like TNC doesn’t just happen — it’s the result of months of dedication, creativity, and collaboration putting ideas and the content together.” We all join you, Ieva, in thanking all members for their dedication and efforts. And as Ieva reminded us, “Let’s keep building, connecting, dreaming boldly and brightly together. Let’s carry those sparks to the next TNC.”

Drum roll… (or rummun pärinää)

And then, we looked to the future, and TNC26 in particular! As Kimmo Koski, CEO of CSC, the Finnish NREN was welcomed to the stage, it all became clear: TNC26 will take place in Helsinki in June 2026! We cannot wait! Kimmo expects it to be OK (Finnish, as he says, for absolutely awesome…).

In the meantime, thank you to our wonderful TNC25 host Jisc and thank you to the vibrant city of Brighton (and the weather gods…), you’ve been amazing!

We wish you safe travels home and a chance to relax for a couple of days before taking all of these new collaborations forward.

Note: Recordings are available here and we will continue to add to these over the coming days.