As we reflect on another great year, we want to take a moment to say thank you to all our members, partners, suppliers, and staff for making it possible.

And we want to wish each one of you a restful, joyous, and fun-filled holiday season, and a great start to 2026!

- Season's greetings on behalf of the Board and staff of GÉANT.

This week, our CEO Lise Fuhr was in New York at the UN General Assembly for the WSIS20 meeting, joining discussions on building a digital ecosystem that is people-centered, inclusive, & development-focused.

She took part in several side events covering different perspectives, and addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the IGF Leadership Panel.

One message was clear: inclusive and strong digital governance doesn’t happen behind closed doors. It works best when it’s built together.

Want to learn presentation skills, network with international peers, and take to the #TNC26 stage?

That’s exactly what the Future Talent Programme (FTP) 2026 is designed for.

FTP26 gives students & early-career professionals the space, skills, and confidence to shape their ideas and share them with the GÉANT community.

📷 Photo from #TNC25, where 5 out of 12 FTP participants took to the stage for their Lightning Talks.

🔗 Apply at https://community.geant.org/learning/future-talent-programme/
🚨 Applications close on 4 February 2026

🌐 Microsoft premieres new Academic Research Skilling Hub to the GÉANT community

European Research & Education institutions consuming Microsoft #cloud services via GÉANT’s #OCRE2024 Framework now have a new resource: Microsoft's Academic Research Skilling Hub.

Specifically designed for research teams, this dedicated portal helps researchers and research #IT professionals advance their skills and make practical use of Microsoft tools.

🔗 Learn more and explore the hub: https://connect.geant.org/2025/12/11/microsoft-premieres-new-academic-research-skilling-hub-to-the-geant-community

What if submarine fibre-optic cables could do more than carry data? SUBMERSE project is proving they can.

This EU-funded project brings together 25 consortium partners, from research groups to National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) and industry, including GÉANT and our member NRENs.

Together, we're exploring how existing telecom infrastructure can be transformed into scientific sensors.

🔗 Read more in the latest #CONNECT50 article: https://connect.geant.org/2025/10/13/submerse-a-journey-into-the-world-of-fibre-sensing

Reclaiming the human mind 🧠

In our latest #GEANTCybersecurity expert article, Panayiota Smyrli (Digital Security Authority) examines a quiet shift: as automation grows, our critical thinking shrinks.

AI drafts our ideas, finishes our sentences, and even nudges our decisions.

Panayiota invites us to step back, slow down, & reintroduce small mental challenges: doing the maths ourselves, exploring without GPS, and sketching ideas on paper.

🔗 Read the full article: https://connect.geant.org/2025/11/13/the-comfort-trap-how-automation-can-make-us-forget-how-to-think

We’re proud to support Polar Connect Step 2 (24-EU-DIG-PC2) as an Associated Partner, working alongside the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, NORDUnet, GlobalConnect, CSC, and the Swedish Research Council (the project coordinator).

With the Grant Agreement now signed, PC2 takes a major step toward realising Polar Connect – a resilient Arctic submarine cable system linking Europe, North America, and East Asia for the benefit of the global internet.

🔗 Read more: https://connect.geant.org/2025/12/04/polar-connect-receives-additional-eu-funding-geant-to-support-as-associated-partner