Conveners
Hello Africa: Resilience and Connectivity in Practice: 4D
- Renato Furter (Switch)
Description
African Research and Education Networks operate under persistent constraints — limited infrastructure, high costs, and growing expectations. This session explores how Digital Sisu drives resilience, innovation, and collaboration across the continent.
Through perspectives from MaliREN, RENU, and WACREN, the talks share practical experiences from environments where resilience is not optional but essential. The session offers valuable insights for participants from well‑resourced contexts who want to broaden their perspective and learn how creativity, courage, and collaboration thrive under constraint.
RENU operates under constraints common to NRENs worldwide: limited resources, rising expectations, and constant pressure. Embracing “Digital Sisu” a mindset of courage, resilience, and determination, RENU transformed its national digital ecosystem by focusing on people and culture rather than hardware. This led to adopting DevOps as a philosophy, breaking silos, fostering shared ownership, and...
The journey to MaliREN connectivity reflects a transformative pursuit to strengthen research and education across member institutions in Mali. MaliREN - the Mali Research and Education Network - was established to provide universities, research institutions, and innovation hubs with reliable, high-speed, secure and affordable connectivity for scientific collaboration. However, connectivity...
For National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), true sustainability extends far beyond laying fiber. It requires a strategic pivot from pure connectivity to a thriving "value-added ecosystem." This presentation showcases the operational framework of the Oman Research and Education Network (OMREN), a compelling case study in how NRENs can secure their future through a triad of human...
