Internet2: 25 Years of Technology and Community
A Q&A with Internet2 VP Ana Hunsinger
The year 2021 will bring challenges and opportunities to everyone. Internet2 will celebrate its 25th anniversary as it continues to support and lead critical network infrastructure and services nationally while engaging the world's research and education communities. CT spoke with Ana Hunsinger, Internet2's VP of Community Engagement, to learn about some of the highlights of this year's Internet2 initiatives, directions, and programmatic goals.
Mary Grush: As Internet2 moves closer to its 25th anniversary, one can see that there are numerous programs and projects through which it continues to support the research and education communities, just as it did in 1996. What's at the heart of all these programs that will take us into 2021 and beyond?
Ana Hunsinger: Internet2's priority today and always, is enabling research and education communities to advance. Everything we are doing this year, and moving forward, is to make sure that we continue to be there in support of our communities through tailored capabilities for research and education, infrastructure and services that enable scientific collaboration, and learning solutions and training that are built by the community, for the community.
Internet2's priority today and always, is enabling research and education communities to advance.
Grush: So, goals for the community are clearly at the center of Internet2's mission, which you accomplish in large measure through all the advanced networking technologies and infrastructure we think of when we talk about Internet2…
Hunsinger: Infrastructure is important, and that requires advanced networking, hardware, equipment, software, services — and you name it: a lot of technology, from your local campus network all the way to the national infrastructure and beyond… even globally! But what is also integral to Internet2 is engaging the community; bringing together people with both mutual interests and diverse perspectives.
Our role is that of facilitator, to bring people together to engage in dialogue, consider shared challenges, and find solutions that everyone in the community can benefit from. A primary driver for us is enabling our members, through collaboration and community building, to do what no single institution could do on its own. This is a big part of what excites me about what Internet2 does.
Our role is that of facilitator, to bring people together to engage in dialogue, consider shared challenges, and find solutions that everyone in the community can benefit from.
Of course, there are many different stakeholders across these institutions — particularly CIOs and their IT staff. We equip them with the tools and technology they need to enable the many things that they do to support their institutions. We want to be that partner that the CIOs and their staff can depend on to support their education, research, and community service missions.
And just like everyone else, we can hardly wait for the pandemic to be over, so we have more options for face-to-face interactions and engagement again. But meanwhile, we can take this time as both a challenge and an opportunity to re-envision the future. How do we advance new and creative ways to bring our communities together — whether in person or in virtual spaces?
And just like everyone else, we can hardly wait for the pandemic to be over, so we have more options for face-to-face interactions and engagement again. But meanwhile, we can take this time as both a challenge and an opportunity to re-envision the future.
Grush: Then, Internet2 continues to support education and research, not only through infrastructure and services, but also by leading knowledge sharing and collaboration. I know there are too many programs, projects, pilots, and priorities to mention here, but could you highlight just a few initiatives or directions that are particularly impactful at this time?
Hunsinger: Of course. There are many projects, but broadly speaking, I work with my staff to deliver on the value of what it means to be part of Internet2, as, for example, we enable researchers across institutions and continents to seamlessly collaborate thanks to their participation in InCommon. It's exciting to have institutions become part of the federation and implement the trusted access platform software tools, which by the way, were developed and tested by members of the community to support their campus operations in enabling national and global research collaborations.
One of the things I'm really excited about this year is bringing leaders and IT staff together, in what would have been face-to-face mode but is now in virtual modality. We had success with TechEXtra last year in bringing people together through the virtual platform that we now call I2 Online and in which we are supporting discussions of timely topics and strategic issues. My team is committed to ensuring that these types and the range of community exchanges will continue, and planning is well underway for virtual programming and convening of the community in 2021.
Grush: That's great. How is the network infrastructure supporting these initiatives? I think you'll soon have some announcements of milestones reached…
Hunsinger: We are in the midst of implementing our Next Generation Infrastructure (NGI) program. You can expect to hear announcements of major milestones and the network coming online this summer. It is being built to enable fast deployment of new services and tight integration with applications and scientific workflows on the campus and in the cloud. It will be scalable, programmable, and have 2 to 4 times more capacity. And equally important, we are going to provide all these enhancements while ensuring a greener carbon footprint.
Another significant effort being led by my colleagues at InCommon is providing the eduroam service for universities, national labs, museums, and other institutions across the US. It's a global roaming wireless access service that is available in over 100 countries. Institutions love eduroam because you can quickly authenticate to WiFi with a single credential, no matter which campus you visit. We are now working with state and regional research and education networks to expand the offering into K12 schools and community anchor institutions such as libraries, museums, and even public transit.
At Internet2, we place a strong value in bringing people together to help envision our future as a community. And when you look at technology development and innovation, it's interesting to note that there are examples of advancements that, without community involvement and purposeful intentions, would never have been defined.
At Internet2, we place a strong value in bringing people together to help envision our future as a community.
Grush: What are a few of the ways Internet2 helps with workforce development and diversity?
Hunsinger: There's a great need and interest within our communities, in training and upskilling the IT workforce, especially when it comes to our members having to develop and retain IT staff. From the InCommon Academy offering virtual training sessions for each of the four trusted access components, to facilitating more effective integration of cloud computing resources and cyberinfrastructure, we're committed to supporting our communities with their most pressing challenges.
Through our NET+ program offerings and through the CLASS (Cloud Learning and Skills Sessions) pilot, for example, Internet2 is addressing aspects of workforce development and aims to make it easier for our communities to access the cloud, not just for enterprise needs but also for research and scholarship. This is especially relevant if you want to leverage all the cloud platforms available for the community, including the support of research workflows. Internet2 has been able to work with different cloud providers to maximize what they offer, with skills development a major outcome.
Specific to CLASS, one challenge that we have to overcome, however, is more sustainable and customized training as well as establishing a community of practice, for this pilot to move to the next step. We plan to have multiple cohorts as we go forward — so far, we are supporting an inaugural cohort that was formed in December of last year. With their input and the input of future cohorts we hope to formalize a robust program that will eventually be available beyond the pilot participants.
Diversity and inclusion are super-important for Internet2. Certainly our community needs to pay attention to ways we can ensure diversity and inclusion for women and other underrepresented groups. Innovation cannot be achieved when voices are missing from the community. We need to do more. We have a program called the Internet2 Inclusivity Initiative, which raises awareness and brings attention to the ways we can become much more inclusive.
We're continuing the conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion. It's an ongoing process, and we have to be intentional and follow through with time and resources, broadening the participation across the Internet2 community and bringing diverse voices in as we amplify discussions of inclusion. And, we are continuing to spotlight the champions who can lead and support our ongoing efforts.
Grush: Generally related to Internet2's commitment to engage the community, how do you see your focus in 2021?
Hunsinger: As you pointed out, this year holds an important anniversary for Internet2 — our 25th anniversary in October. It's a really great time to emphasize our continued commitment to work with our members to support their campus communities and research environments. We are also committed to broadening the dialogue and engagement with underrepresented community stakeholders as we further our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
It's a really great time to emphasize our continued commitment to work with our members to support their campus communities and research environments.
We were founded way back in 1996, and we are still here, 25 years later, to serve our communities: higher education, state and regional networks, K12 schools, cultural organizations, foundations, affiliates, and government organizations among them. We are here to solve technology and networking challenges, provide dependable and accessible networking infrastructure, and help advance research, scholarship, and education.