How do we enable agile digital infrastructure for education and research?

The conference, which has the theme ‘enabling agile infrastructure in a digital world’, is aimed at leaders and influencers within education, research and IT, as well as non-IT heads of business transformation, heads of department, estate managers, HR, data analytics managers and training development leads.  

Networkshop49 will run over three days and consists of four programme streams:  

• Building digital infrastructure, resilience and flexibility 
• Digital culture as the new normal 
• Network resilience – preparing for challenging demands and threats in the new world 
• Lessons learned from rapid transformation 

Jeremy Sharp, chief technology officer for the Janet Network at Jisc, says:

“Networkshop is always a great chance for IT professionals working in research and education to get together and discuss the most topical issues across our sectors.

"Although this year's circumstances have meant we have to run Networkshop49 online, we have set up an exciting virtual environment that maintains the real essence of Networkshop that has made it such a popular annual event. Attendees will still be able to engage with each other and have those creative conversations.  

“We’re also running continued professional development (CPD)-accredited training courses for the first time this year, so there’s something extra to gain from taking part. We’re looking forward to hearing about extraordinary challenges and celebrating achievements throughout this difficult time – we hope to see you there.”   

The conference will present keynotes from Dr Hannah Fry, associate professor in the mathematics of cities at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London (UCL); Ewan Birney, deputy director general at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and director at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI); and Ahmed Benallegue, networks and security team leader at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.  

Ahmed Benallegue says:

“A strong digital infrastructure is the backbone of many organisations such as ours, and being able to share ideas and best practice with colleagues is a great opportunity. I look forward to meeting my peers from across the education and research sectors at Networkshop49, which being online will be easier to attend than ever.”  

Ewan Birney says: 

“2020 has been a challenge for education and industry alike. Coming together with peers across both sectors to understand how we can learn from each other, and work together to keep moving forward, is invaluable. Digital infrastructure has this year been revealed as more important than ever for research, education and industry at the national and international scale. Now is a particularly important time for events like Networkshop.”   

Networkshop49 is also CPD-accredited, for the first time offering a range of training courses for both higher and further education colleagues. The interactive training workshops are included within the programme, and are designed to give attendees a taster of various subject areas, and to provide a practical learning experience.  

Early bird booking is available until January 31 2021. Find out more information about the developing programme and keynote speakers.