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What is GÉANT? GÉANT is the pan-European network that delivers a high-performance connectivity and advanced services to more than 50 million research and education users across 40 European countries. GÉANT interconnects European national research and education networks with a high-bandwidth and highly resilient backbone and links them to over 100 countries worldwide enabling collaboration on projects ranging from biological science to earth observation and arts & culture.

What's an NREN? A national research and education network (NREN) is a dedicated internet infrastructure and service provider to the research and educational communities within a country.

What is TNC? The TNC Networking Conference is the largest and most prestigious European research networking conference, with more than 700 participants attending this annual event. TNC brings together decision makers, managers, networking and collaboration specialists, and identity and access management experts from all major European networking and research organisations, universities, worldwide sister institutions, as well as industry representatives. Through keynotes speeches by renowned specialists, varying parallel sessions, demonstrations and presentations, the Conference presents participants with a unique overview of the latest developments in research networking, both in the technical field and in the area of application and management.

What is the FTP Lightning Talk Challenge? The FTP Lightning Talk Challenge is a challenge for young professionals to get their ideas at the stage of the TNC Lightning talk presentations. Nominated by GÉANT project partners, participants undergo series of training events such as webinars, support and coaching to help master presentation skills. These events are organised to increase the chance of their submissions to be accepted by TNC Programme Committee. The training events also prepare participants for a superb delivery at the actual event. All participants benefit from the initiative by developing and improving their presentation skill. Finalists of the Challenge receive full financial support for delivering their talk at the TNC.

The FTP Lightning Talk Programme is an excellent opportunity for young professionals to show what they have been working or what their ideas are and for everybody else to get information on many interesting activities that are being carried out in the campus or in the NREN.

What's expected from me as a young professional? If you register for the challenge you are required to: 1. submit your topic title 2. prepare and rehearse your Lightning talk and undergo the series of training events we organise for you 3. if accepted, present at the Lightning Talk Plenary at TNC. Your presentation must be delivered in English and lasts max 5 minutes on a subject matter, 4) be reachable and available during the programme period.

What type of ideas can I submit? The subject matter of each presentation could be any idea, project or research or innovation you have been working on that addresses a technical, economic, legal, security or environmental aspect in any IT and network field.

How can I participate? To participate, you must be nominated by a 
GÉANT Project Partner / NREN. To be considered for nomination, contact the local NREN directly or ask your university or college teacher. NREN details can be found on the GÉANT member page. You can also send a message to glad@geant.org.

When and where will TNC be held? TNC23 will take place from 5-9 June 2023 in Tirana, Albania. More info can be found here: https://tnc23.geant.org/about/

When will the webinars take place and how can I join? After close of registration (28 February 2023 12:00PM) nominated participants will be scheduled for 3 Group Training Webinars of 60-90 minutes each. Webinars will run between  end of March and May. 

When will I be notified if my proposal/poster is accepted? After a timely submission (submission deadline is 10 March), you will be notified on the acceptance of your proposal by the TNC Programme Committee.

If I'm invited to TNC, how should I arrange my travel? There are two ways to arrange your travel: 1. your NREN mentor / contact will buy your flight or train ticket.  2. You make the bookings yourself and claim the expenses back from GÉANT. 
At any rate, GÉANT will take care of the hotel booking for all the Future Talent finalists.

What are the requirements?

Eligibility This challenge is open to individual(s) who are registered at a course(s) at a university, college or learning provider affiliated with one of the GÉANT Project partners / NRENs, or young professional working at a GÉANT NREN.

Nominations All participants must be nominated by the operating NREN in a GÉANT Project Partner country

Abstract Upon registration all proposals must include: title, participant name, educational institution, short biography, five keywords, and short introduction of the idea (max. 500 words). Abstract must be marked [Topic title + FTP22-student]

Webinars Participants commit themselves to attend the training and therefore must have access to a computer with a webcam to join the webinar.

Presentation Selected participants will be presenting at TNC23

Language High English language proficiency is required

Social Media All participants are invited to share their experiences on social media
 

What are the process and the timeline?

Step 1 Get your local NREN to register you before 28 February 2023 

Step 2 Take part in the free training webinars between end of March and May, run by a professional speaker and coach. Dates and Program will be confirmed to you by email.

Step 3  Submit your Lightning Talk proposal to TNC by10 March 2023

Step 4 You will be notified on the acceptance of your proposal at the end of March.

Step 5 If selected, take centre stage at TNC23 between 5-9 June 2023 

Have a different question?

Contact your local NREN or

Email: glad@geant.org or training@garr.it

^{This initiative is co-funded by the European Union. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of GÉANT and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.}