Dutch e-IRG semester Workshop

Note: The venue location and detailed logistics are at the bottom of this page! Registration is now open. 

Evaluation form: https://forms.gle/oXArNZR5n7nF4cjs6 

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The e-Infrastructure Reflection Group (e-IRG) organises two open workshops every year, usually under the auspices of the corresponding presidency of the EU Council. The e-IRG Workshop this time is organised as a hybrid event hosted by SURF, and will bring together e-Infrastructure stakeholders in Amsterdam, Netherlands, as well as online and worldwide. 

The event's overarching theme is "Sovereignty and organisation of e-Infrastructures at European and National Levels".   

A set of sub-topics was developed by the Programme Committee, composed of e-IRG delegations and e-Infrastructure Assembly members, namely: 

Session 1: Sovereignty of e-Infrastructures at European and National Levels. 

Research and innovation (R&I) are central to Europe’s competitiveness and to addressing complex societal challenges. Over the years, national and EU-wide e-Infrastructures have enabled cutting-edge research across global borders for the academic-research sector and beyond, actively contributing to European programmes and collaborations.

Now that the global geopolitical landscape is shifting, the European Union has made strategic autonomy, i.e. the ability to safeguard its interests and policies without overdependence on external actors, a central policy goal. In a world marked by geopolitical tensions, supply chain vulnerabilities, and increasing demands for self-reliance, e-Infrastructures are at the heart of the discussion.

This session will explore:

• How European and national e-Infrastructures, providing connectivity, storage, processing, and (trans-)national access to scientific data, contribute to digital and scientific sovereignty.
• The impact of evolving EU regulations and directives aimed at building resilience and autonomy.
• The role of multidisciplinary collaboration across research, education, and innovation.
• The importance of integrating research-based education to prepare the next generation of scientists and innovators.
• The potential role of the e-IRG in this.

The session will bring together perspectives from policymakers, infrastructure providers, and academia on how sovereignty can be achieved without undermining Europe’s long-standing commitment to openness, collaboration, and scientific excellence.

Session 2: Paradigms of e-Infrastructures – Different Approaches and Better Coordination

National e-Infrastructures (e.g., NRENs, National Computing Centres, National Open Science Initiatives/national EOSC nodes and National Data Service centres) all share the overarching mission of providing a robust digital foundation for education, science, and innovation. Yet, their organisational models and portfolios are increasingly diverse. Some countries have adopted a more centralised approach (i.e. “full stack” approach), offering a comprehensive range of services from networking and computing to data and trust infrastructures. Others deliberately focus on specific components such as networking, computing or data/open science, leaving complementary elements to other organisations. Interactions among e-Infrastructure components are also vital for the end users, and how these connections play out at both, the national and pan-European levels.

This session will examine the different paradigms shaping national e-Infrastructures, the cooperation level at European level among major European horizontal (i.e. generic or domain agnostic) e-Infrastructures (e.g., GÉANT, EGI, EOSC, EUDAT, EuroHPC, OpenAIRE and PRACE), as well as between thematic Research Infrastructures/e-Infrastructures and generic ones, and provide insights into how different organisational models impact service delivery, interoperability, and Europe’s collective ability to support world-class research and innovation.

Topics to be discussed include the following debates:

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of centralised versus distributed/multi-actor models in national organisations? And how do national strategies influence the balance between centralisation and diversity? What lessons can be drawn from countries where multiple organisations coexist, each serving a part of the research and education landscape?
• What is the level of coordination among the European horizontal e-Infrastructures? What is the e-Infrastructure Assembly progress and has it contributed to better overall coordination for the benefit of end users?
• What is the level of coordination among the horizontal (domain-agnostic) EU e-Infrastructures and thematic (domain-specific) Research Infrastructures/e-Infrastructures?

The session will bring together perspectives from national and EU policymakers, horizontal and thematic infrastructure providers, and academia to reflect on how better coordination can be achieved for the benefit of the users.
The workshop will provide a great opportunity to review the two latest e-IRG papers, the Recommendations on European e-Infrastructures for Research and Education, published in 2024 and the e-IRG White Paper 2022 on the cooperation of e-Infrastructures, published in January 2023.

Tuesday 09 December 2025, 09:00-17:00

Session 1: Sovereignty of e-Infrastructures at European and National Levels

Session 2: Paradigms of e-Infrastructures – Different Approaches and Better Coordination

Note: A visit to NIKHEF will be arranged during the day.

Looking forward to a fruitful workshop!

Stefan Hanslik, Ron Augustus, e-IRG Chair and co-Chair

Fotis Karayannis, Michael Maragakis, Bernd Saurugger, Jan Wiebelitz, e-IRG Secretariat

e-IRG (@eirgeu) 

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