AN INTRODUCTION TO SURF WHAT COLLABORATION CAN DO FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH Walter van Dijk Member Management Team SURFnet

SURF unites Dutch higher education and research institutions in pursuing high quality improvements in education and research through pioneering ICT innovations. Collaboration within SURF aims for to the development of products and services that none of the institutions can achieve on their own. More than a million users: students, instructors and researchers. Pioneering ICT innovations 2

14 research universities 42 universities of applied sciences (hogescholen) 8 university hospitals National Library of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) TNO, Telematica Institute Commercial R&D institutions Small-scale higher education institutions Collaboration = success factor SURF is a partnership of and for institutions for higher education and research 3

Every four year Multi-Year Plan for strategic themes – in close collaboration with institutions MYP = foundation for financing Start in Jan 2013, new MYP published in May 2014 Additional financing for innovation projects and programmes via Ministries of Education and Economic Affairs Strategy & financing

MYP-themes Consolidate leadership role in networkinfrastructure Optimise security and privacy aspects Advance alternative forms of sourcing (cloud) and sustainability Develop national e-Infrastructure for research Offer infrastructure for (open) digital content Enhance quality and efficiency in higher education (Technology Enhanced Education) Offer cost-effective innovationcycle for products and services Reinforce role as center of expertise and knowledge

NLeSC RESEDU ADM General Board Executive Board NWO (research fund) Board members institutions OWNED BY INSTITUTIONS 6

Strategy & funding A new strategic plan every 4 years. Strategic plan is base for funding by participating institutions. Additional government innovation grants come from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and Ministry of Economic Affairs. SURF directs and coordinates the implementation of funded projects. Projects are carried out close to the source of expertise: at institutions for higher education and in enterprise. SURF sets up the program, invites tenders, ensures independent quality assessment and monitoring and makes project results available. 7

NLeSC RESEDU ADM General Board Executive Board NWO (research fund) GROS ANNUAL TURNOVER (estimate) 25M€ 6M€ 10M€ 65M€ 33M€ Institutions: 3M€ Government: various 8

NLeSC RESEDU ADM General Board Executive Board NWO (research fund) WORKING WITH INSTITUTIONS SURFacademy projects SIG 9

ICT has become a fact of life, including in the higher education and research sector. Research is becoming increasingly data-driven and requires an infrastructure for multi-institutional collaboration. Students and staff want to access services and information within the cloud from any location using their own devices. SURF’s vision 10

Fragmented ICT environment Enable seamless collaboration between systems and people. Allow students and researchers to collaborate simply and effectively, regardless of where they are or what technology they are using. 11

Big data Large complex datasets used by researchers requires large-scale computing capacity and high- quality user support, combined with advanced network facilities. Need for highly advanced e-infrastructure. 12

e-Infrastructure for research SURF helps to keep The Netherlands in the top 5 of the Global Competitiveness Index by Providing an advanced national e-Infrastructure consisting of networks, supercomputers, grids, and data. Transfer of knowledge to the commercial sector, in close collaboration with the Netherlands eScience Center. Structural funding comes from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and Ministry of Economic Affairs 13

Local availability of HPC infrastructure is essential for many scientific fields GRID and HPC infrastructure seamlessly connected to Europe As in the United States, HPC services are also available for the commercial sector, including SMEs High performance computing (HPC)

Separate components of the e-Infrastructure will be offered as an integrated service for researchers. Coherent offering of network services (SURFnet), SURFsara facilities, and new services provided by The Netherlands eScience Center. Single support desk for researchers 15

Management of research data Research Information Research Support Open Access, Open Data Other themes (1) research 16

Other themes (2) education Online education Open educational resources Digital testing Learning analytics Digital learning and working environment 17

Other themes (3) business administration Cloud computing Privacy and security Educational logistics Sustainability (Green IT) i-Architecture 18

International cooperation Aimed at institutions Radar, Guide and Broker (trendwatching, decision support, collaboration) Improving SURF Peer-to-peer, and strategic alliances, e.g. JISC, Knowledge Exchange, Educause, CNI Establish worldwide position Géant, TERENA, Internet2, EC projects 19

SURF organization Operating divisions (business units), each with its own focus, are working together on ICT-themes. Netherlands eScience Center is cooperation between SURF and NWO. Since 1 january 2013 SURF also sole shareholder of Vancis BV. 20

NLeSC RESEDU BUS General Board Executive Board NWO (research fund) MANAGEMENT CONTROL CoB/ED + DIR CoB/ED CoB/ED + DIR 2x SURF 2x NWO Program approval CoB=chair of the board ED = executive director DIR = director 21

guarantees collaboration and involvement of managers in higher education and research connects users and ICT services and creates new functional possibilities favourable conditions for ICT services, software, content high-performance computing and visualisation for science efficient management of results of collaboration projects What SURF can do 22

Thank you for your attention!