With over 900 participants from more than 72 countries, TNC25 – held in Brighton from 10 to 12 June – concluded as the most attended edition ever of the leading international conference on networking for research and education.

Organised by GÉANT with the support of the UK’s research and education network Jisc, the event showcased strong global engagement.

This year’s theme, “Brighter Together”, inspired discussions on the importance of international and interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting dialogue around building a more inclusive and sustainable digital future. As one speaker from the South African network put it: “We are greater than us.”

Artificial intelligence featured prominently, with sessions exploring its influence on areas from education to network management. Cybersecurity also took centre stage, tackled from both technical and human perspectives, including simulations to address the vulnerabilities of the “human factor”. Key topics included optical networking, submarine cables, VPNs, trust and identity, digital identity federations, and sustainable infrastructure.

The Italian research and education community contributed actively. Giuseppe Aceto (University of Naples Federico II) presented the MANANA project, focused on mobile app traffic monitoring. From GARR, Matteo Colantonio and Filippo Landini participated in technical sessions on network automation and the Workflow Orchestrator. Mario Di Lorenzo contributed to the 50^th REFEDS Meeting with a talk on the IDEM GARR AAI Federation, while Davide Vaghetti joined multiple eduGAIN Town Hall sessions, including a presentation on the OpenID Federation pilot.

Speakers offered wider reflections. Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah (University of Cape Town) discussed networks as metaphors for understanding modern challenges, including the digital divide, environmental justice, and AI bias. Tetiana Preobrazhenska (URAN, Ukraine) gave a moving talk on the support received from the GÉANT community during the war, advocating for broader digital solidarity.

During the opening plenary, the GÉANT Community Award was presented to Ronan Byrne (CEO of Ireland’s HEAnet), and the Vietsch Medal went to Cathrin Stöver for her work supporting academic infrastructure in complex regions such as Ukraine.

The Community Hub featured lively sessions on innovation, agile funding, the future of NRENs, open science, and NOC services, reinforcing its role as a key space for exchange. The overarching message: international collaboration is essential to meet current and future technological, environmental, and societal challenges.

TNC25 concludes with a stronger, more united community, committed to building resilient, secure, and sustainable networks through collective effort. The next edition, TNC26, will be held in Helsinki from 8 to 12 June 2026, hosted by CSC, Finland’s national research and education network.

To revisit all presentations,

visit TNC25 website