Less than one month to go until we gather in Helsinki for TNC26! Have you started browsing the Programme online and saving your favourite sessions? Now it’s the perfect moment! Check out our overview of Day One of the event, and continue reading to find out more about what to expect on Day Two, Wednesday 10 June.
What’s on the agenda for Day Two
Day Two brings a strong focus on security, and not just the technical kind, but the humans side too. A dedicated interactive Community Hub session (Understanding Security) will explore community-led initiatives like PAW, the Security Awareness Hub, and the Security Innovation Lab, all designed to make cyber security knowledge more accessible across the research and education community.
The eduGAIN team (Incident Response in eduGAIN) will discuss how they have handled real incidents in the federation – what worked, what didn’t and how approached to incident handling can be compared and improved across the community. Continuing on the topic of identity and access management, there will be BoF on eduVPN and eduroam (Global eduroam Governance Committee – open session) as well.
Other technical sessions cover a wide spectrum of topics: Campus Network as a Service, progress updates on quantum technologies for NRENs, and a broader conversation about scalable services (Scale Matters – Eventually). A Community Hub session on big science projects (Powering Data-Intensive Science) will explore what it actually takes to connect Europe’s most powerful supercomputers, drawing on experiences from NRENs involved in the EuroHPC HyperConnectivity project, AI Factories and other big initiatives.
But TNC has always been as much about community as it is about technology. In fact, the BoF The Talent Playbook will explore the topic of recruitment, exploring how hiring managers and team lads can bridge the gap between efficient recruitment and their NREN’s mission-driven culture.
Recently, many NRENs have launched new strategies, so the session The NREN Strategy Journey will explore the questions ‘how do you create a strategy that people feel part of? How do you bring it to life in a meaningful and measurable way?’.
A workshop on fibre sensing will offer a tour of the new service being developed by NRENs for NRENs – a collaborative project that exemplifies the spirit of the community.
No TNC would be complete without the Lightning talks (First Strike) – one of the most popular sessions of the entire event. This year’s line up is very diverse. Presenters will pitch their ideas on eduroam data and security, deploying AI for intrusion detection, podcasts for science communication, network security, the first real-time pan-European distributed orchestra, atomic clocks, IPv6, quantum network, data transfer nodes for South Africa, and also avoiding misunderstandings when it comes to terms and expectations dealing with suppliers.
And to close the day, participants will head to the Conference Dinner, which is sponsored by CSC. The dinner will take place at Wanha Satama, a historic harbour from the 1890s. Located by the sea in Helsinki’s Katajanokka district, the building functioned for a long time as a customs warehouse, through which various commodities, such as coffee and spices, passed to the inhabitants of the then Grand Duchy of Finland.
Not registered yet?
Regular Passes are available until 5 June 2026 (midnight CEST). Please note that to attend side meetings you need a separate ‘Side Meeting Pass’. If you’d like to bring a guest to one of the Social Events, you can purchase a pass for them.
Joining remotely? No problem.
All conference sessions and plenaries will be livestreamed free of charge on the TNC26 website during the event days. There will be no online pass, registration, or access code needed; simply visit the website and be part of the action from wherever you are.
Whether you’re attending in person or online, TNC26 promises another unforgettable week of collaboration and community spirit.
Subscribe to the TNC mailing list and visit the TNC website at tnc26.geant.org for all conference updates.
