On 24 and 25 June, UK’s research and education networking community will gather in Nottingham for the Jisc Networkshop 2025. NORDUnet is pleased to take part once again in this valuable forum—an opportunity to connect with UK colleagues, explore new initiatives, and strengthen partnerships across the European NREN community.
This year, NORDUnet’s COO, Jørgen Qvist will share insights on the Polar Connect initiative—an ambitious plan to build a resilient, trans-Arctic submarine cable linking Europe and Asia. As part of a session on global research networking, he will highlight how this alternative route offers advantages in sovereignty, resilience, and latency, bypassing traditional paths through the Middle East, Russia, or North America.
As part of his presentation, Jørgen will in particular address the unique engineering challenges of laying and maintaining subsea cables in the High Arctic, and how recent advances make this increasingly feasible. A key element is the integration of digital acoustic sensing and SMART sensors into the cable system, supporting vital research in one of the least explored regions of the world.
Polar Connect is advancing through a series of studies co-funded by the EU’s CEF Digital programme, with a growing ecosystem of public and private partners. Aligned with Europe’s digital autonomy and infrastructure resilience strategies, the project reflects the power of collaboration—across NRENs, borders, and disciplines.
