GÉANT General Assembly 35 in Poznań

The Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center is an active participant in the GÉANT project, holding a leading role in project governing bodies, the project board, and numerous individual project teams and structures. PSNC contributes not only to software management but also to the development of knowledge sharing, operational activities supporting the network and its security. All of this is done to increase its value for the scientific and educational community.

General Assembly is a recurring meeting of the GÉANT management, including the GÉANT Executive Team, Board of Directors, and representatives of all NREN networks that are part of the GÉANT project. The previous meeting took place in Amsterdam in the autumn of 2024. This spring discussions, meetings and consultations took place in various locations in the capital of Wielkopolska. Several dozen representatives of the GÉANT project community discussed the most important issues related to the project budget, subsequent phases of service implementation, and the execution of complex investment plans, among other things. The meeting was also an opportunity to present proposals and ideas that can be implemented from the perspective of national networks.

Elections were also a part of the agenda of the Poznań meeting. Dragan Kupres (CARNET), Leonie Schäfer (DFN), and Ramaz Kvatadze (GRENA) – these three members were elected or re-elected to the GÉANT Project Planning Committee (GPPC), which is a body of NREN representatives. It oversees and directs the planning and submission of proposals, including those aimed at implementing Horizon Europe GN5-FPA, in which the GÉANT Association is involved. The committee always strives to ensure that a wide range of expertise is represented across all thematic areas, including networking, cloud, and security.

– On behalf of the GÉANT community, I would like to thank the nominees and nominators and welcome our new and re-elected members – said Tryfon Chiotis, Chief Programmes Officer and co-chair of the GPPC. – I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our current members for their continued service – it’s a good reminder of all the hard work behind the scenes that contributes to the success of GÉANT projects.

Alongside the General Assembly, the Eastern European NREN Directors’ Forum took place at the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center headquarters. The group discussed recent joint implementations of programs centered around GÉANT. It was also a good opportunity to visit our laboratories. The directors saw the PSNC server room with supercomputers and our management center, which guarantees continuous supervision and monitoring of the national e-Infrastructure security 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.