Building secure, resilient and future-ready networks

Networkshop continues to be one of the most valuable events in the calendar. Over the last few years, it has evolved beyond being purely a technology conference to become a vital forum for collaboration across higher education, further education, research, and industry. There is a strong focus on real-world operational challenges and how organisations can work together to address them.

The 2026 event, held across two days at Nottingham Trent University and online, focused on how intelligent network infrastructure can be transformed, optimised and empowered to drive innovation and shape a sustainable future.

Some of the most prominent conversations centred around cyber resilience, AI-driven infrastructure demands, cloud connectivity, automation, and the ongoing challenge of balancing innovation with financial pressures. There was a strong emphasis on supporting the next generation of digital services.

The event was lively, fast-moving and insightful - and here are a few of the key thoughts I came away with.

Future-ready networks are critical

The network landscape is constantly shifting - and with that comes the need for institutions to continuously modernise infrastructure to deliver scalable, high-performance and environmentally sustainable services.

Attendees discussed the need for flexibility to support cloud, hybrid learning and research at scale, and the challenge of balancing rising demand against the pressures of constrained budgets.

Security and resilience are non-negotiable

At Jisc, we describe protecting higher and further education institutions as the biggest challenge in cyber. The risks have never been higher amid growing cyber threats, geopolitical risks and the breakdown of traditional network perimeters. Emerging technologies including AI mean that cyber criminals are more equipped than ever before to carry out large-scale, co-ordinated attacks.

Against this background, it is essential for organisations to adopt zero trust, identity-centric security models, embed resilience by design, and ensure rapid detection, response and recovery capabilities across all services.

Connectivity enables inclusion and global collaboration

Institutions are operating in an increasingly digital and distributed environment, which provides opportunities to support greater inclusion and collaboration - regionally, nationally and globally.

Robust, accessible networks are key to delivering equitable access to education, supporting hybrid and flexible learning models, and enabling seamless collaboration across institutions, borders and communities.

Sector collaboration accelerates innovation and capability

As we often say, we're stronger together. Collaboration is a recurring theme across the sector as institutions seek to maximise the many benefits of shared expertise, community engagement and cross-sector partnerships.

Close communication and collaboration help institutions tackle common challenges faster, adopt best practice, optimise investments, and collectively build more capable, secure and innovative digital ecosystems.

Connectivity is the foundation for everything

Secure, high-capacity and intelligent networks underpin every critical function within an organisation, from digital learning platforms and student experience to cloud adoption, administrative systems and, more than ever, global science.

Our infrastructure supports large-scale, data-heavy collaborations for projects such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and the Square Kilometre Array telescope, as well as the day-to-day work of institutions. In every case, resilient, always-on connectivity is essential for institutional effectiveness, innovation and competitiveness.

Bringing the community together

Perhaps the greatest strength of Networkshop is the opportunity it provides to bring the community together. While the technology itself is important, the real value comes from sharing experiences, learning from peers, and building relationships across the sector.

In an environment where challenges are increasingly complex and interconnected, events like Networkshop play a vital role in helping organisations learn from one another and move forward collectively.

Next steps

• Download our infrastructure intelligence briefing - bringing together the main pressures shaping digital estates
• Explore our infrastructure key resources