LUMI AI Factory: NRENs’ partner for developing digital sisu in Europe

As spelled out on the TNC26 website, the Finnish word sisu is a wide concept encompassing inner strength, tenacity, determination, and courage, particularly in the face of adversity. This is obviously something that all societies need, especially in these tumultuous times marked by geopolitical tensions, unpredictable power politics and economic insecurity. 

As for digital sisu, this comes quite close to the concept of technological sovereignty that the European Commission has been promoting in recent years. The Commission wants Europe to reduce its dependencies on non-European technologies to ensure that Europe has the capacity to exercise its independence in the digital domain. Such independence takes sisu, but also builds it. 

LUMI AI Factory and other EuroHPC infrastructures are good examples of Europe using sisu to build more sisu. It has been a bold move by the European countries to pool resources and invest in shared computing infrastructures that may be located in another EU country. This has, however, allowed Europe to build capabilities that no individual country could achieve on its own. 

NRENs also to contribute Europe’s technological sovereignty and digital sisu. Together with the EuroHPC infrastructures they form an ecosystem that puts Europe at the frontline of technological development. Even more importantly, this enables novel kinds of research projects, thereby enhancing new knowledge, understanding and competences across European societies.  

Improved human capital is key to Europe’s future success. Skilled and innovative individuals are needed to make optimal use of the digital research infrastructures available. This, in turn, allows for groundbreaking research and innovation that improves Europe’s competitiveness and prosperity while also helping us tackle grand challenges like climate change and global health threats. 

Wide competence and knowledge base is also Europe’s best guarantee against the threats that misinformation and foreign information manipulation pose to the security and democracy of our societies. What would be a better way to fight fake news than reliable research among a population that understands and believes in it? 

As operators of some of Europe’s most impactful infrastructures in support of research and innovation the participants of TNC26 can make a major contribution to Europe’s technological sovereignty and digital sisu. We, at CSC and LUMI AI Factory, are happy to be your partners in that endeavour and look forward to fruitful cooperation in the years to come.