FAQS

Please note that these FAQs address generic questions that you may have about the TNC conference. For a specific TNC conference, you can visit the respective website (e.g. TNC24, TNC23 etc.).

TNC is the name of the conference, it no longer stands for anything. It used to be the TERENA Networking Conference but, following the 2014 merger between DANTE and TERENA to what is today the GÉANT Association, we have just retained the three letters TNC. There are many that still talk about “I am attending the TERENA Conference this year” and that is completely fine.

TNC funding is a little complicated. We have in essence four different sources of income: the respective GNX project (at the time of writing this is the GN5-1 project), the registration fees, and the commercial partnership programme. The fourth source is the contribution received from the hosting NREN. As a rule of thumb one can say that the human resource for the logistics of the event is generally covered by the GNX project, while venue bookings, food, and events are covered by a combination of the registration fee income and the commercial partnership programme. The host NREN generally covers one or two of the social events. That can differ from year to year.

One objective for TNC is to be an inclusive event and to promote digital inclusion across Europe. This is why we have the general principle of alternating the hosting of TNC across the vast geographic coverage of the GÉANT Association Membership. TNC provides a platform to the NREN hosts to showcase their achievements with other academic networks. By bringing together experts from around the world, TNC provides opportunities for international collaborations to local researchers and students that benefit the hosting NREN and country. TNC also helps to promote the hosting country as a destination for international conferences with a positive impact on the local economy.

Any GÉANT Member NREN can host TNC, the specific location is jointly chosen in agreement between the GÉANT Association leadership and its events team as well as the host NREN. TNC is a big event and specifically the side meetings need a considerable amount of space. This, and of course venue availability in June, very often influences our choices.

There are normally around 20 members, and we aim to make the PC as inclusive as possible. So, there needs to be a good mix of experts across the main content areas – network, trust and identity, security, clouds, and community. While the GÉANT Association Membership is of course European, we recognise that TNC is a global favourite, so we also always invite experts from the global NREN community. We try to ensure diversity across age groups and gender, and also make sure that new members to our community are represented. Staff from the GÉANT organisation also support us regularly. Most members of the PC stay for longer than just one year, but that to a certain extent is self-selective. In the end, being a member of the TNC PC is a lot of hard work, so it requires a real level of dedication and commitment for people to continue doing it over the years.

TNC is a community event for and by the community. It’s the Programme Committee’s job to make sure that the interests and expectations of the community are reflected. This is not only selecting papers, but deciding the programme balance across the TNC week and of course the theme. The PC is not involved in the choice of the location, of course, but every location and also its venue influence the PC’s decision-making process, as the location influences the theme. And of course, the venue also influences the programme.

For a long time now, NORDUnet and PSNC have been part of the TNC team. This close collaboration is supported via the respective GNx project where both NORDUnet and PSNC, as well as GÉANT and the respective host NRENs, form part of what we internally (and often externally too) refer to as WP2 T3 – meaning the TNC events team which sits in the bigger Marcomms work package. The relationship with PSNC and NORDUnet makes all the difference to TNC and ensures that the event is “by the community and for the community” not only when it comes to the Programme Committee, but for the entire technical set up of the event as well. NORDUnet provides connectivity and conference streaming and PSNC is responsible for the audio-visual systems and the conference production. It’s a quite a job and a huge amount of commitment.

The conference programme, including the side meetings set up, is influenced by the conference venue. This means that sometimes we have a lot of space and can be very generous when it comes to side meetings. At other times, we are very restricted and then we have to be very disciplined about side meetings. We always try to ensure a balanced approach.

By bringing together decision-makers, networking and security specialists, identity and access management experts, researchers, academics and students, TNC offers a unique collaborative experience to our commercial partners. Ours is a year-long programme that encompasses both TNC and wider engagement activities, such as advertorials in our CONNECT Magazine, training and promotion webinars, access to the GÉANT Community Special Interest Groups and Task Forces, as well as regular engagement planning meetings.

We are aware that the registration fee for TNC can be restrictive. Therefore, please keep reading below about the Emerging NREN Programme and the Future Talent Programme in case those apply to you. But, also make sure to always check out our online platform – TNC is live-streamed and online participation is always free of charge.

The Emerging NREN Programme aims to integrate individuals from emerging NRENs from around the globe into the TNC community and create synergies and connections at different organisational levels between European and international NRENs. Its purpose is to bring to TNC NREN staff members who would not be able to participate otherwise, focusing particularly on engineering and technical personnel.

The Future Talent Programme offers students and young professionals the opportunity to present their project or idea to TNC’s international audience. Nominated by GÉANT project partners, participants receive training to help them master presentation skills and prepare to deliver an impactful presentation.

TNC is a great opportunity to meet and exchange. The GÉANT organisation has four values: Trust, Community, Innovation, and Passion. All these values come together at TNC, and our CEO passionately takes this forward when inviting attending CEOs from around the world to this parallel session, which is by invitation only.

On the first day of the conference we host a TNC101 session ‘How to make the most of your TNC,’ and it usually takes place one hour before the start of the Opening Plenary. If you have never been to TNC, this is where it all starts, don’t be shy, just come along!

Of course, the more, the merrier! But please remember that you will need to purchase additional social passes for your guests.