The GÉANT Info Day, hosted at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia by BREN brought together researchers, network specialists, local representatives from the universities’ IT department and local policy makers to explore the state-of-art of GÉANT activities and the development of pan-European digital research infrastructure in Europe.
At the heart of the discussions was GÉANT, Europe’s research and education network, which connects national research and education networks (NRENs) across the continent. By providing high-capacity, secure, and reliable connectivity, GÉANT supports millions of users in academia and research institutions, facilitating data-intensive science and international cooperation. All of this tailored package of support for research is enabled in Bulgaria by BREN with its long-standing leadership of Prof Radoslav Yoshinov (BAS) and Prof. Roumen Trifonov (Technical University of Sofia). They put significant effort into ensuring that high-demands research departments in the country have access to a state-of-the-art network and will also enable DISCOVERER, the local EuroHPC site, soon thanks to the 2x100G connection in place.
The event aimed to raise awareness among the local R&E community about the critical role research and education (R&E) services such high-speed connectivity, authentication into collaboration platforms, and tailored services for the pan-European R&E community enable scientific innovation across borders.
Ariela Herček (ARNES), from the GÉANT Community Committee, underscored the importance of capacity building and knowledge sharing. By bringing together stakeholders from across the region with the various Special Interest Groups and Task Forces of the GÉANT Community Programme foster dialogue on best practices, challenges, and future opportunities to seize together. Also within the GÉANT Community Programme, the Innovation Programme funds initial development, proof of concept or testing of new ideas relevant to the community in the fields of network, cloud, identity management and security, among others. There are also plenty of learning and development opportunities available to the GÉANT community via the eAcademy.
Eva Nestorovska (PCSS) from Work Package 4 of the GN5-2 Project emphasised that through the OCRE 2024 Framework the research community is able to bring home the best deal from selected cloud providers via a compliant but agile procurement process made available for participating GÉANT members and connected institutions. In this way, advanced computing, secure storage, data analysis, collaboration, digital learning, AI-powered research tools and services can be easily obtained without the need for complex procurement procedures. She also described how the OCRE 2024 Framework enables NRENs, research institutes, universities, schools, and public organisations to make use of tailored cloud environment for researchers, and that out of 25,000 participating institutions, over 50 are in Bulgaria.
Casper Dreef (GÉANT) then followed with an overview of the trust & identity services available via GÉANT, free of charge for all NREN members enabling interoperability and collaboration. Starting off with eduroam – the wi-fi network of research and education – he then explained how federated identity systems allow researchers to access resources across institutions using a single digital identity. This not only simplifies access but also enhances security and accountability.
Then GÉANT presentations concluded with an overview of the network which connects Europe given by Bram Peeters, Chief Network Services Operation at GÉANT. The focus was not so much in the technicalities of this high-speed, resilient and future-proof built infrastructure which enables experiments with odd spikes of data package to travel safely and securely but on the grounding basis that this network is built together with the community of GÉANT which means is tailored to their needs and optimized for efficient cost-benefits. And this network does not just stop in Europe but interconnects research worldwide and in the near future will also enable hyperconnectivity in Europe.
The GÉANT Info Day then ended with an overview of the local infrastructure. Orlin Kouzov, Chairman of Board of National Research Network Association (NRNA) in Bulgaria, illustrated that despite structural challenges and shifting government priorities, the Bulgarian research community is present and active in European research infrastructure not only with their network infrastructure but also with the willingness to open opportunities to collaborate to the local education community soon.
BREN hosting the event at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences reinforced the institution’s role as a central support hub of the local research community and demonstrated that Bulgaria is very much aligned with European standards and provide research r seamless connectivity that transcends national boundaries
Ultimately, the GÉANT Info Day in Sofia reinforced the belief that the future of research lies not only in networks infrastructures and related services that make scientific discoveries possible, but emphasised that fostering trust and strengthening secure collaboration while investing in human connection, provides Europe with a unique, innovative and reliable European research ecosystem.
We thank again BREN for the kind hosting and we look forward to seeing more local researchers, educators, innovators involved in the GÉANT Community.
