Working together on AI development
Highlights of the SURF Members’ Council meeting on 17 June 2026
SURF Cooperative Annual Report
The SURF Cooperative’s 2025 annual report was discussed at the Members’ Council meeting. The past year at SURF was characterised by the accelerating rise of AI, increasing geopolitical tensions that were felt within the digital domain, and a major restructuring of the organisation.
From a financial perspective, a balanced budget had been planned. Nevertheless, a small surplus remained. This has been added to SURF’s general reserve. The annual report has been approved by the Members’ Council and will be published on the SURF website.
Core package of services 2027
Every organisation that becomes a member of SURF signs a membership declaration. This sets out the agreements regarding cooperation within the cooperative. Some of these agreements relate to the so-called core package of services. On the one hand, this consists of services that a member is obliged to purchase from SURF. On the other hand, SURF offers services that can be purchased additionally and on an optional basis. The composition of the core package remains unchanged from this year’s core package and has been approved by the Members’ Council.
AI hub
At the Members’ Council meeting in December last year, two AI-related services were announced: AI hub and eduGenAI, collectively positioned as SURF AI. Both services are currently in the final phase of development, with a planned go-live date of 1 January 2027.
To facilitate the go-live, the current pilot environment will be scaled up to a production environment for widespread use by members. Additional hardware is required to ensure sufficient capacity to meet future demand. The Members’ Council has approved the additional investment in hardware and emphasises the importance of working together on AI-related matters. At the same time, it is important to press ahead in order to make the services available to members.
Reappointment to the Scientific and Technical Council (WTR)
The WTR consists of recognised independent experts, who are appointed in a personal capacity. They advise SURF, the Executive Board and the Members’ Council, both on request and on their own initiative. Appointments are always for a term of three years, with a maximum of three terms.
During the Members’ Council meeting, the following individuals were reappointed to the WTR.
- Dr N. (Nynke) Bos, for a second three-year term.
- Prof. A. (Arno) Lodder, for a third three-year term.
New multi-year strategy
SURF’s current multi-year strategy runs until the end of 2027. Work on developing a new multi-year strategy will take place this year and next. During the Members’ Council meeting, both the process and the timetable for the coming year and a half will be outlined. The aim is to reach a decision on the multi-year strategy at the Members’ Council/SURF Summit in October 2027, with the strategy due to come into effect on 1 January 2028.
Discussions also took place on how the Members’ Council can be involved in the development of the new multi-year strategy. This will be a recurring theme at every forthcoming Members’ Council meeting, alongside the strategy’s content and the dilemmas involved. The precise details of the multi-year strategy will be worked out by experts within SURF and among the members.