GÉANT awards EUR 230,000 to Digital Research Environment (DRE) initiative

SURF leads the technical development, while GÉANT provides project coordination. Four national research networks (NRENs) - SUNET (Sweden), Switch (Switzerland), HEAnet (Ireland) and Sikt (Norway) - are contributing by setting up Proof of Concepts (PoCs). By doing so, they test the usability of the platform for their national constituencies.

Focus on open science and sovereignty

The GÉANT DRE should change the current, fragmented supply of digital research services. By creating a standardised ecosystem, the DRE allows researchers to easily access cloud-based services for storage, analysis, collaboration and more - all supported by GÉANT's trusted networks and identity services.

The DRE is designed with digital autonomy and open science in mind. It supports both central and national deployments and connects to European infrastructures such as the EOSC EU node.

Proof of Concepts in 2025

In 2025, NRENs will start implementing their Proof of Concepts. At TNC25 on 11 June, SUNET's results will be the first to be presented. Switch, HEAnet and Sikt will follow later. Part of the budget has also been reserved for an additional PoC from a smaller or emerging NREN.

Previous successes

Launched in 2021, the GÉANT Innovation Programme promotes projects in networking, security and digital innovation. Well-known successes include eduroam, eduVPN and eduMEET. The choice to fund one major project in 2025 underlines the ambition to drive impactful digital transformation in the European research community.

Read the full message on Géant's website