The Terena Networking conference is usually excellent, the nearest in Europe to the EDUCAUSE conference in the USA.
It takes place this year between May 31-June 3 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
TERENA is the Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association, and is composed mainly of CIOs and IT managers from most of the main European universities. However, it usually takes a broad perspective, particularly regarding applications of technology such as social networking and e-learning.
It’s a good place to find out what’s really happening in e-learning in European universities (the other main European conference, more focused on e-learning than networks, is EDEN, which is in Valencia, Spain from 9-12 June – the two conferences would justify a nice professional development trip to Europe, he said with tongue in cheek. No, I’m not still yearning for university-paid expenses.)
This year’s TERENA conference focuses on the following topics:
- network lifestyles
- network identity and security
- services and applications
- supporting infrastructure
The conference will also provide a chance to catch up on developments in two significant European academic networking projects, Géant (a network for research) and Federica (virtualization techniques).
Price is a bit steep (500 euros and you’ve got to get there), but if you wait long enough the euro will be down to par with the dollar (Canadian). There is a limited number of sponsored registration spaces for ‘bona-fide’ students willing to do a poster on networking.
For more details, go to: http://tnc2010.terena.org/
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
