Case studies

A single expired TLS certificate can prevent thousands of students and researchers from accessing their data. That’s a mistake educational and research institutions cannot afford to make. The solution lies in automating IT processes. Two IT experts from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW-HuC) explain why they chose to automatically manage SSL certificates through SURF.

Together with his team of researchers in Delft, Frits de Prenter studies the sound caused by airflows when they come into contact with objects. This research, which requires considerable computing power, is contributing to the development of quieter aircraft, drones, and wind turbines.

A perfect meeting of science and visualisation is the study of black holes. Simulating and visualising black holes helps us better understand gravity in its most extreme form. University lecturer Bijoy Bera is working with SURF's visualisation team on a VR application that lets you virtually experience this physical phenomenon.

European university alliances are on the rise. Meanwhile, 21 Dutch higher education institutions are participating in this European Commission initiative. CHARM-EU, the alliance to which Utrecht University belongs, has nine institutions from seven countries. How do you organise IT, with all these different systems, legislations and ways of working?

Green Village is a unique field lab in the Netherlands. In this ‘living lab’ on the campus of TU Delft – with housing, infrastructure and residents – scientists and companies test new technologies, systems and products in a realistic environment. The Green Village Data Platform, designed and developed by SURF, plays an important role in this.

How can students truly take charge of their own learning process? Since 2018, Windesheim's Information Manager Anton Meijer and Business Architect Hans Kok have been working on an educational model where the student is at the centre. But how does this work in practice?

Nimeto, the creative vocational school in Utrecht, has undergone a complete transformation. The school building was renovated and expanded, and the Wi-Fi network renewed with SURFwireless to ensure reliable connectivity.

How do you develop a flexible, learning qualification training pathway for lateral entrants in logistics? Three ROCs, an examination supplier, an examination consultancy and a software developer joined forces. They co-created a modular training path based on learning to qualify, supported by an e-portfolio. How did they do it?