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Research Data sharing. The discussion emphasised the value of trust within the community and the need to establish GÉANT EOSC nodes. These nodes serve as platforms for NRENs to explore new tools and services for sharing research resources among themselves, essentially functioning as proof of concept (POC) vehicles. While some participants found the concept more relatable than others, the collective engagement of NRENs was proposed as a more impactful approach, at least for those NRENs with a formal national role toward EOSC. The central question revolved around the services and resources that NRENs should provide through these channels. The discussion highlighted the importance of focusing on the services and resources NRENs can offer and the most effective means of making them available to researchers and EOSC, with GÉANT nodes serving as a practical vehicle to aggregate efforts at the GÉANT level. It was also brought up that developing the software layer of GÉANT/NREN data services could greatly increase the ability among EOSC and other research data infrastructures to optimally exploit the R&E network infrastructure while providing a common layer for greater interoperability also.
Education. The discussion focused on the need for streamlined collaborative efforts in education mobility services, highlighting the significance of thorough analysis. Legal constraints in managing academic records presented problems, leading to the exploration of personal data wallet concepts for educational data management. The discussion stressed the importance of NRENs working together to create a European higher education interoperability framework.
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AI Topics: The discussion revolved around exploring AI topics, assessing AI tools, and NRENs' role in this growing field. Efforts to collaborate with research groups on digitisation and language models were noted.
Role of NRENs in AI: NRENs play a crucial role in facilitating high-scale computing and addressing the demand for GPUs in AI. Plans for compliant ChatGPT access were in progress.
AI in Education: AI's extensive use in educational activities, community organisations, and initiatives in network security data using AI models were discussed.
Key take-aways
NRENs:
- further unite their efforts around cloud procurement, as one pillar of the community's cloud service offerings
- play a crucial role in EOSC, aligning with FAIR data principles, and should prioritise collective actions for community data resource sharingunite their efforts for procurement, particularly when engaging with commercial cloud providers.
- have expressed interest in investigating research data storage and interoperability frameworks and potential future services, built on collaboration and contributions from NRENs and organisations
- recognise the necessity for user-centric educational tools, open-source solutions, and an interoperability framework to enhance education mobility and identity management.
- have expressed interest in contributing to a higher education interoperability framework, advocating for collaboration and contributions from NRENs and organisations.
- will continue discussions regarding AI on fairness, data attribution, and collaboration, with NRENs facilitating dialogue and promoting data diversity
GÉANT
- will consider other opportunities for collective engagement with commercial suppliers where they appear
GÉANT
- has a strong mandate for continuing operations and renewals will provide guidance on continuing operations around the OCRE 2020/2024 Framework.
- has the choice between community and commercial clouds, having also the need to avoid restrictions and build a responsibility to build sustainable communities around products like eduMEET.
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The GÉANT CTO Workshop "Above-the-net Services" proved to be a remarkable success, offering invaluable insights that both affirmed current activities and enhanced the future roadmap. The discussions not only confirmed the importance of collective action and alignment but also charted possible directions and activities for the forthcoming GN5-2 project, ensuring GÉANT's continued commitment to staying at the forefront of network research and education.
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