SURF Magazine: For decision-makers in education and research
EuroTeQ aims to set a European standard
EuroTeQ aims to become a 'European university', with a transparent offer of international education. Paul Koenraad, dean of the Eindhoven Graduate School and Ben Parker, project manager for the EuroTeQ campus talk about their ambitions, and the obstacles they intend to overcome with SURF's help.
"For the students, everything happens automatically. But behind the scenes, the enrolment process is still a matter of manual work. We now want to automate that too."
“Accelerating through technology is the only way forward”
“Our planet has about twenty million species of organisms. Of these, we have named about two million over the past 400 years. This means that we do not yet know ninety percent of all species. And what you don't know, you can't protect. That's why technology is so important. It helps us analyse all life on Earth and speed up that analysis.”
That is why Edwin van Huis, director of Naturalis Biodiversity Center, is pleading for large-scale investments: “To resist the rapidly deteriorating biodiversity.”
The foundation of digital transformation: architecture
The digital transformation is moving forward fast, triggering major changes. Also in education and research, within institutions as well as nationally and increasingly at a European level. We talk to three experts about this. Jan-Willem Brock (CIO Leiden University), Pekka Kähkipuro (CIO Tampere University and University of Applied Sciences, Finland) and Hans Nederlof (Fontys director). "I think we live in a great time."
Cybersecurity Innovation Zone: cooperation and exchange are crucial
Since 2022, SURF has been working with members on innovation in 9 innovation zones. One of these is Cybersecurity, aiming to increase the cyber resilience of education and research institutions. A conversation with Albert Hankel (SURF) and Paula Duijnhoven (Leiden University of Applied Sciences): The question is not whether we will be hacked, but when.
How do they do it in Ukraine?
Every NREN has its challenges, but war is of a different order. Ukraine's URAN is therefore going through difficult times. But in doing so, it does show the strength of the network - in several senses.
5x impact: highlights in 2022
Every year, SURF and its members provide good and innovative IT for education and research. In 2022, the National Growth Fund allocated EUR 560 million and SURF launched the SURFeduhub service. We also made changes to privacy agreements for Zoom. Take a look at highlights of 2022 that contribute to top education and top research.
Imagining the future with SURF Tech Trends 2023
With 6 technologies and 29 trends, SURF Tech Trends is an inspiring report for everyone working in education and research. But it only really comes to life when we, the education and research sector together, shape the developments and applications. Three experts tell how they view this.
mbo and SURF are growing together, to their mutual delight
Up to 90 per cent of mbo institutions are now member of SURF. What ambitions do they have regarding digital transformation? Where are the opportunities for cross-sector collaboration? We asked three mbo institutions, diverse in size and specialties: ROC van Amsterdam-Flevoland, SVO vakopleiding food and Cibap Vocational College for Design.
Samen werken aan Regie op data
What should we do with the data produced within the institutions? Numerous possibilities come within reach, for better research and education. But are we on the right track? How do we gain direction over our data (further Regie op data)?
A conversation with Ruben Kok (director Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences (DTL) and board member Health-RI), Sarah Coombs (advisor Research Support, Saxion) and JaapJan Vroom (senior advisor educational innovation, Deltion College).
'Three universities for the price of one'
Educational alliances are a growing phenomenon. This is no wonder: by allowing students to take courses back and forth, institutions can greatly enrich their educational offerings in one fell swoop. But how do you get such an alliance to work? We take a look behind the scenes at Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities.
How do they do it in Australia and New Zealand?
You can't travel much further than Australia and New Zealand. But even those countries each have their own SURF. How does that work there? We talked to Chris Hancock of AARNet in Australië and Amber McEwan of REANZZ in New-Zealand. "What other industry do you know where CEOs get around the table to share the secrets of their strategic planning?"
5x Impact in 2021
Year after year, SURF and its members work to provide good and innovative ict for education and research. In 2021, we launched SURF's Strategy 2022-2027 and switched on a supercomputer named Snellius. We also signed several important contracts and DPIAs with big tech. Take a look at the highlights of 2021, all of which mark the excellence in the fields of education and research.
Using study data responsibly? Start the conversation
As a sector, we want to deal responsibly with study data and at the same time utilise the opportunities it offers. Since May 2022, the Dutch Privacy and Ethics Reference Framework for Education Data has been available, which can play an important role for institutions.
The mbo brings volume and connection
As many as 49 of the 59 mbo institutions are members of SURF and interest from other schools is high. Since 2014, the mbo is represented in the member council with 3 members and since this year it also contributes to the innovation funds. This makes the sector a full member of the SURF cooperative. A conversation with Adnan Tekin, Mirjam Koster and Martijn Timmer about cooperation and diversity.
How do they do it in the United States?
In the United States, EDUCAUSE has set up a roadmap for digital transformation in higher education. Betsy Reinitz, Director, Enterprise IT Program, tells us about the vision behind the roadmap. Can we learn something from the Americans?
Cooperation provides greater Bargaining Power in Talks with “Big Tech”
Negotiating with "Big Tech" firms such as Google and Microsoft is no easy task. Educational institutions experienced this last year when privacy issues came to light in Google Workspace for Education. Thanks to joint action by SURF, SIVON and a number of educational institutions, it proved possible to reach a solution with Google.
"It's about whether you are willing to act on public values"
SURF is joining PublicSpaces, a coalition of public organisations from the cultural and media sectors that is committed to protecting public values in the digital age. Geert-Jan Bogaerts of PublicSpaces and Jet de Ranitz of SURF explain why the alliance makes sense.
Dilemmas in protecting public values
In the processes of digitalisation, board members of educational institutions face dilemmas in protecting public values. In other public sectors, they can talk about this. SURF organised a series of talks on protecting public values.
With some board members, we look back at three seminar series: 1. Yvonne de Haan of HAN; 2. Rob Mudde, Vice Rector Magnificus of TU Delft; and 3. Mirjam Koster of Graafschap College. Philosopher Marjan Slob provided reflection on the sessions, and she wrote the column 'That obscure place where impressions are not yet data'.
Previous SURF Magazine articles
- Platformcoöperaties als alternatief voor commerciële platforms
Coöperatieve of missiegedreven platforms leveren een wezenlijke bijdrage aan de maatschappij. Ze bieden instellingen kansen om studenten meer aan zich te binden. Maar een proactieve aanpak is dan wel cruciaal om de richting te kunnen bepalen. - Belemmeringen wegnemen om data te delen
Datasoevereiniteit is voor onderwijs- en onderzoeksinstellingen essentieel. Onzekerheid die hierbij komt kijken maakt instellingen terughoudend bij het delen van data. Data Exchange moet die zorgen doen verdwijnen. - 4 vragen over de nieuwe supercomputer
De nieuwe supercomputer Snellius is officieel in gebruik gesteld door Koningin Máxima. Met Snellius zijn Nederlandse onderzoekers in staat nog meer wetenschappelijke uitdagingen het hoofd te bieden. Tijdens de opening op 16 september spraken onder meer Marcel Levi (NWO), klimaatwetenschapper Henk Dijkstra en demissionair minister Van Engelshoven. 4 vragen over de nieuwe supercomputer Snellius.
Josje Spinhoven
