Magazine

For decision-makers in education and research

Breakthrough in collective procurement of hardware

Until recently, it was unthinkable: 36 SURF members from mbo, hbo, wo, TNO and SURF itself, purchase their new PC hardware jointly through the SURF cooperative. "We see very clearly that we are now paying less for a computer than when we bought independently," he says.

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"At level 3, you have your information security under control'"

Sector-wide agreements have been made in education about information security. Together, we express its level in 'maturity'. On a scale of 1 (ad hoc) to 5 (optimised), the average rating within the education and research sector is currently 2.3. Administrative commitment is crucial to move forward.

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Think tanking for Digital Transition: discussing an urgent topic with fellow board members

In 2024-2025, AI will be the topic of the Digital Transition Think Tank. If you, as a board member, want to bring and get something on this topic, join in!

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Collaborative research is pivotal in achieving transitions

Cooperation between universities, universities of applied sciences, and the mbo is crucial to tackle major social issues. It is therefore important that researchers know who at other institutions is working on what research. The new platform Publinova makes the research of universities of applied sciences accessible and visible to everyone.

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"If we want to work together, we need to speak the same language"

Anyone comparing the robust activity in the port to the structured world of education would expect the focus on IT at the Rotterdam Port Authority to be miles away from that at SURF. In contrast, Claudia de Andrade de Wit, ultimately responsible for digital infrastructure, surprisingly names many areas of focus that will seem familiar to us.

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Creative collaboration in Brazil

"Our work is more than connectivity. It is connecting," says RNP (Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa) on its website. What does Brazil's NREN mean by this? Two of its directors talk about what they do and what drives them.

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Institutions take the lead in metaverse applications

One thing is for sure, this is not going away. Metaverse is taking an increasingly prominent place in education and research. We discuss visions and expectations with four board members.

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Governance on architecture and standards: we do it together!

Working under architecture is the approach for digital transformation in context. This does require making and keeping agreements. This requires governance. "Not everything is clear yet, but you are talking to each other."

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Strategic collaboration in Singapore

Singapore, beating heart of Asia's networking infrastructure. Numerous national research and education networks (NRENs) and companies in Asia and far beyond have linked their networks through the SingAREN Open Exchange. How did this 'Global eXchange Point' or GXP become so successful? We asked Francis Lee, founding president of SingAREN.

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