This autumn NORDUnet will take part in launching “EUMEDplus”, a new project aimed at supporting NREN infrastructure and services in what is known as EU’s Southern Neighbourhood, viz. Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.
The project has three main objectives:
- Supporting Research and Education by strengthening the NRENs in the countries and the regional R&E network ASREN, enabling them to support digital transformation within the R&E sector. The project will address maturity and financial sustainability of the R&E networks and will support gender equality initiatives.
- Elevating Digital Infrastructure by significantly improving network access and capacity by supporting the deployment in high-capacity networking based on the pan-Mediterranean Medusa submarine-cable project, as well as aiding the individual NRENs in developing and implementing the capabilities to exploit this increased capacity. In addition, the project will investigate options for expanding Medusa coverage in the region.
- Expanding the service offering by supporting the development of NREN service portfolios, with a focus on the creation of digital identity federations as well as cross-border cooperation in HPC utilisation, and promoting the adoption of open science principles.
NORDUnet joins the project as a minor partner, looking to support the evolution of NRENs in EU’s Southern Neighbourhood and especially the ASREN regional R&E network. NORDUnet has a 40 year history operating as a regional membership organisation for the Nordic NRENs, serving as regional provider and a facilitator of collaboration, on behalf of its members.
“We have a long and positive collaboration with ASREN, and look forward to supporting the next step in their journey as an regional organisation serving NREN members”, says Lars Fischer, Chief Relations Officer at NORDUnet, adding “ASREN is a key partner in the global research network landscape, and we are proud to have been chosen as a contributor to the evolution of the future ASREN orgaisation and governance”.
EUMEDplus is co-funded by the European Commission. The project runs for 48 months, with a total budget of 13.3 m€, of which 12 m€ are contribued by the European Union.
