Bringing together young professionals and networking community

At GÉANT believe it is crucial to engage, foster and develop future IT professionals. This sentiment holds true now, more than ever, as the sector undergoes a period of considerable growth.  As we are committed to the up-skilling of Europe’s future IT workforce, we have set up the GÉANT Future Talent Programme.

Future Talent Programme is a gateway to young professionals to meet the European and global networking community. The Programme offers young professionals an opportunity to grow and develop their skills through free webinar series, internships or coaching. Furthermore, it rewards the learning by offering free admission to international, prestigious events to those, whose work was recognised by an independent panel.

The GEANT learning and Development teams up with GEANT project partners to reach out and mentor young talented professionals to participate in one of our initiatives. Since the start in 2017 the Future Talent Programme had participation from 22 NREN, featuring 44 bright and young professionals. The programme is funded by the GEANT Project.

We invite you to join us.  

To learn more about Future Talent programmes and activities contact
nadia.sluer@geant.org or visit learning.geant.org

Our Programs

Every year we offer initiatives that facilitate engagement with young professionals under the mentorship of GEANT NRENs. These initiatives exist to introduce a future generation of talents to our community and to engage with experts in our fields. Future Talent programmes offer professional training and development to young professionals and supports mentors to lead the way.

Lightning Talk Challenge  

Focus: presentation and public speaking skills

Lightning Talk Challenge is a programme for young professionals to get their ideas on stage of the TNC Lightning talk programme. Nominated by GÉANT project partners, participants undergo series of training to help master presentation skills and increase the chance of participants’ submissions to be accepted by TNC Programme Committee. The training events also prepare participants for a superb delivery at the actual event. In addition, participants benefit by engaging with peers through webinar training events, group building a professional and social network of peers. Finalists of the Challenge receive full financial support for delivering their talk at the TNC.

What’s included

• One introduction workshop
• Two practical e-workshops on public speaking with professional coach
• Private coaching for selected finalists
• Full travel package
• Full conference pass for finalists

Requirements

the following qualifications are required of all applicants:

• This challenge is open to individual(s) who are registered on any IT & networking (related) course(s) at a university, college or learning provider in a GÉANT Project Partner country listed below.
• All participants must be nominated by the operating NREN in a GÉANT Project Partner country.
• The Lightning talk idea must fall in an IT and Networking area.
• Lightning talk proposals must include: title, student name, educational institution, short biography, five keywords, and short introduction of the idea (max. 500 words). Abstract must be marked [Topic title + TNC19STUDENT].
• Participants commit themselves to the full programme and therefore must have access to a computer with a webcam to join the webinar
  Selected students will be presenting at TNC19 in Talinn
  High English language proficiency is required.
  All participants are invited to share their experiences on social media.

Programme Timeline

February – Registration deadline 28 Feb
March – Submission Lightning Talk topic to TNC until 15 Mar
March – Professional training workshops
May –    1:1 coaching

Please review these instructions before completing your application

Step 1 Register your candidate online no later than 11:59 pm CET on 28 February, with a brief description of his or her topic.

Step 2 All nominees will become participants of the future talent programme and receive training on public speaking. Your talent takes part in the e-workshops in March and April. Dates and Programme will be confirmed to you and your applicant by email.

Step 3 Participants submit their proposal to TNC Programme Committee by 15 March 2018, midnight CET. Submission details.

Step 4 You and your mentee will be notified on 18 April 2019 of the acceptance of the proposal.  

Step 5 Your mentee takes centre stage at TNC19.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are no citizen requirements, as long as the candidate is nominated by the NREN and registered at an university within the constituency of the NREN

What are the age requirements for the programme?
There are no age requirementsWhat kind of candidates should you look for?
Ideal candidates are undergraduate, master or PhD students with a commitment and active involvement  in 

What fields are candidates chosen from?

How competitive is the programme?
All candidates nominated by you, the NREN, are admitted to the Future Talent Programme, which in itself does not have a competitive element. The competing element comes with the acceptance of the proposal for the lightning talk at TNC and will be decided by the TNC programme committee, based on the content and topic of the proposal. TNC receives on average 160 applications for lightning talks. The e-workshops offered by the Future Talent Programme bring young, often unexperienced applicants and first time speakers in a better position to be selected by the programme committee and speak at the conference!

What do I need to send to Future Talent Programme to nominate a candidate?
A complete application includes the online registration at Eventr including your contact details as a mentor, your candidate’s contact details and university and a short description of the topic the candidate wants to submit for a Lightning Talk. The application must be completed by 28 February

What is the duration of the programme?
The programme runs 3 months from March to June.  Depending on the number of participants the e-workshops will be organised in groups of max 5 participants and will run in March and April. Finalists whose proposals are accepted by the TNC Programme Committee will receive some extra private coaching prior to the conference, depending on how their presentation proficiency has progressed. The TNC conference will take place from 176-20 June in Talin, Estonia

What’s the programme timeline?
February – Registration deadline 28 Feb
March – Submission Lightning Talk topic to TNC until 15 Mar
March – e- workshops
May –    Private coaching for finalists
June – Participation in TNC Lightning Talks

What are some examples of past participations from NRENs and their talents?
CYNET
FCT/FCCN

Where can I find materials to promote the Future Talent Programme and recruit participants?

Click here for a student Q&A and student datasheet and website banner.

Where can I view a recent Please click here to view Student Lightning talks from 2018