TNC26 closes with a look to the future

Helsinki’s TNC26 closed today with its highest number of attendees yet (just short of 1,000 onsite participants – and many more watching the livestreams!) after a packed week of learning, connecting, and growing together.

And one thing was very clear – this is a community built on a very simple, yet powerful idea: that when we share knowledge, we can achieve incredible things.

We connect people, and those people change the world

 In her closing plenary address, GÉANT CEO Lise Fuhr said, “We are meeting at a time when the world feels uncertain. If you read the news, it’s easy to see that the world is becoming more fragmented. In some places, the very idea of international collaboration — the belief that we are better off combining our efforts — is being questioned. There is a growing temptation to look inward and to focus only on what is happening within our own borders. But that is not who we are. Building bridges over borders is exactly what GÉANT and our wider research and education community do best.”

She then looked at the changing legislative landscape around us – the AI Act, the European Quantum Act, the push for digital sovereignty – and how the upcoming EU budget needs to support the infrastructure that enables and empowers science and education.

There is a lot going on, a lot coming up, and we are reminded that to succeed we need to continue to do what this community does best: to collaborate; to act like our networks – continually share information, always find a route, and to be deeply interconnected.

Cognitive Security

 Lise then welcomed to the stage keynote speaker Samuli Könönen for his talk on cognitive security: protecting how we think. You can read more about Samuli and his keynote in our excellent interview with him before the conference started.

So, where to next?

As is customary, this year’s host then handed the baton to joint hosts for TNC27, Belnet (represented by Dirk Haex) and Restena (represented by CEO Gilles Massen)!

That’s right, we’re headed for Belgium and the wonderful city of Liège next year! Take a closer look with the new TNC27 website.

In the meantime, we thank our wonderful TNC26 host CSC, Helsinki has been amazing! And we wish you safe travels home.

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