This interview was published on RNP em Revista, the magazine of RNP, the Brazilian NREN.
For Lise Fuhr, CEO of GÉANT, the pan-European network for research and education, Europe needs to advance in building its digital sovereignty without weakening international scientific cooperation. In an interview with RNP em Revista, she emphasizes that academic and research networks are strategic assets for boosting science and innovation. According to the Danish executive, GÉANT’s main value goes beyond technological infrastructure and lies in its ability to mobilize a strong collaborative community. Fuhr also discusses the challenges of internet governance and strengthening partnerships with international organizations, as well as the prospects for the financial sustainability of digital research and education infrastructures.
Lise will be present at the RNP Forum 2026 , participating in the panel: “Digital Sovereignty in an Interdependent World: The New Role of Global NRENs”, on August 25th.
From your point of view, how would you describe the current state of research and education networks in the world? What are the biggest strategic risks faced by these networks today, whether technological, political, or financial?
Right now, we have excellent research and education networks, possibly the best-kept secret in Europe and the world. What we do is unique: we provide a high-quality and resilient infrastructure that serves the research and education community.
But if we rest on our laurels, we risk falling behind the pace of technological development. Commercial players are rapidly advancing in areas such as quantum communications, artificial intelligence, and submarine cable sensing, and these are technological transformations that our community also needs to explore.
At the same time, the global political landscape is becoming more fragmented and marked by growing distrust. While research and education networks continue to foster trust and cohesion, the world as a whole seems to be moving in the opposite direction, with a greater focus on defense and less attention to education and research.
From a financial standpoint, our community faces pressure because it is competing for resources at a time when funders are, as we often say in Europe, in a context of “polycrisis.” This situation began with the pandemic, was aggravated by the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the rise in inflation associated with the crisis involving Iran. These are real challenges, but I also see them as opportunities. They force us to clearly see who we are and to defend the value of our community and our infrastructure, demonstrating that we are more relevant than ever.
Many countries are currently discussing concepts such as digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy. How can research and education networks balance these national priorities with the tradition of global scientific collaboration?
This is a fundamental question for our future. We have thrived thanks to strong global collaboration, but we cannot ignore the growing demands for digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy. These two dimensions can coexist, provided there is a balance.
In Europe, for example, there is a movement towards having the equipment used produced on the continent. In this respect, it is possible to meet national priorities and demands for sovereignty. This direction has been incorporated into our 2026-2030 Strategy, which envisions the development of our network as a secure, resilient, and sovereign pan-European capability, supported by well-informed technological choices and strategic partnerships. This also means working with our members to assess and, where appropriate, adopt digitally sovereign alternatives to existing services.
For research and education, however, keeping everyone connected remains the top priority. If we fail to do so, the world will be in a worse situation. The work we do is apolitical and should remain so, but control over our own networks needs to remain within national borders.
Europe has built one of the world’s most advanced research network ecosystems through GÉANT and national research and education networks. What lessons from the European experience could be useful for other regions?
One of GÉANT’s greatest achievements has been building a network based on trust and a community around it. Technology is one of the fundamental layers of our work, but what truly makes GÉANT strong is its members and the trust built over the years through collaboration. Creating physical and digital infrastructure also requires creating a parallel human network, composed of people who continue to learn, evolve, and share best practices.
Our strength lies precisely in this human network. Commercial companies can also build infrastructure, but it is this community of people that makes us stronger.
GÉANT operates with a highly collaborative model involving dozens of national networks. What leadership and governance lessons have emerged from managing such a distributed international organization?
When I arrived at GÉANT, I was immediately impressed by the strength of the NREN community. A year and a half later, that perception is even stronger. An important part of what makes everything work is respect for diversity, effective communication, and genuine inclusion, combined with GÉANT’s ” bottom-up” approach , in which the community itself actively contributes to guiding the Association. This is what keeps the organization dynamic and united. The governance of a distributed organization like ours needs to be built on listening.
GÉANT and its associated NRENs maintain a close and interdependent relationship, and we need to remain constantly attentive to one another. Having a clear direction and a defined vision is essential, but if you become overly fixated on your own vision, you will not achieve your goals. As the proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This is a principle I truly believe in and which, in my opinion, defines how GÉANT exercises its leadership.
Financial sustainability is a constant challenge for large digital infrastructures. How do you see the future of the financial sustainability of research and education networks in Europe? What message would you like to convey to policymakers about the importance of these investments?
Financial sustainability begins with understanding the constantly evolving needs of the research and education community, and not just the 27 member states of the European Union. By staying close to these needs, we can support many of Europe’s strategic priorities and contribute to the European Commission’s objectives in areas such as artificial intelligence, time and frequency services, wired sensing, testing and innovation, education, security, and digital identity management, including initiatives such as the European Digital Identity Wallet ( EUDI Wallet ). We are already in active dialogue with the European Commission on all these topics.
My message to policymakers is simple: because we are a unique community, investing in GÉANT multiplies the impact of that investment, because our own members also contribute to all this work. If we can make our value clearer and more visible, I believe we will have a solid path to securing funding and long-term financial sustainability.
Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum networks, large scientific data infrastructures, and advanced cloud services, are placing new demands on networks. How should research and education networks adapt their infrastructure and services to meet these demands?
Our community is already adapting. We are investing in areas such as time and frequency services and expanding federated models, such as those used in the EuroHPC Hyperconnectivity project . We don’t need to be absolute pioneers on all fronts, especially in areas like the quantum internet. Instead, we can closely monitor global developments and offer our infrastructure as a testing ground in Europe. Building strategic alliances with organizations and companies operating in these emerging fields is essential because it keeps us connected to ongoing research and collaboration.
We adopt the same approach for other emerging technologies, from artificial intelligence to advanced cloud services. In all these areas, building strategic alliances is fundamental. They keep us integrated into innovation ecosystems, instead of trying to do everything alone.
Collaboration between academic networks and global cloud providers is increasing. How do you see the evolution of the relationship between public research infrastructures and commercial digital platforms?
This collaboration is expanding, but we need to carefully understand its implications for our networks. I see a growing reliance on commercial digital platforms by academic institutions, driven primarily by needs related to cloud computing.
In Europe, there is a growing demand for European solutions, which is why the success of the OCRE 2024 program is so important. It allows institutions to easily acquire both European solutions and services offered by major global cloud providers, all made available by European vendors in Member States. GÉANT is not just reacting to this transformation; we are developing tools to manage it strategically. Significant challenges remain, as many European service offerings continue to lag behind hyperscalers in terms of scale and maturity. In the future, we want to play an increasingly active role alongside our members and the global community to navigate these changes, guided by the principles of resilience, cost efficiency, and digital sovereignty.
Looking ahead to the next decade, what do research and education networks need to do to remain essential infrastructures for science, education, and innovation?
We need to continue listening to the needs of the research and education community and remain attentive to political transformations, while preserving strong global collaboration and the exchange of best practices. We must take care of our own environment without losing sight of the broader picture. We cannot close ourselves off to local contexts, however important they may be for generating value for our members.
What makes us unique is precisely our members: the ability to connect Ireland to Ukraine and Finland to Greece through a network that offers high levels of capacity, quality, and security—something that simply cannot be replicated in the same way by a commercial network. Strong collaboration, technological focus, and a united community: these are the elements that will keep us essential.
We also need to strengthen our collaboration with technical and political organizations that shape the internet globally, such as the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), ICANN, IETF, and the Internet Society (ISOC). Maintaining close involvement with these organizations increases our visibility, strengthens our voice in technological development processes, and provides us with a clearer view of what is happening across the global internet community.
