Focus: Presentation skills,  public speaking skills

The Lightning Talk Challenge isa programme for young professionals to present their ideas on stage as part of the TNC Lightning Talk programme. Nominated by GÉANT project partners, participants undergo series of training to help them master presentation skills and prepare participants for an impactful presentation at the actual event, if their proposal is accepted by the TNC Programme Committee. In addition, participating in the challenge gives students the chance to building an international network of peers through the virtual workshops where they will learn new skills and practice their presentations together.  Participants whose proposal gets selected for the conference will be invited to TNC21.

TNC21 Official statement:

"In the uncertain times caused by the events that have been affecting our world in 2020 we have been evaluating all possible options regarding the format of TNC21. At this stage we know that the event preparation and the conference will be different from previous years, but we’re planning accordingly and will keep our community up to date as regularly as possible.
Our plans are to host, together with Jisc, a hybrid conference in Brighton, UK where the physical and virtual elements will coexist.
In February 2021 we will make a final decision about the structure of our flagship event and we will promptly notify the community."





What’s included

  • Practical and interactive workshops under the guidance of a professional public speaking coach for all participants
  • 1:1 coaching on public speaking for finalists
  • Travel package + full conference pass to TNC20 for finalists

Requirements

  • This challenge is open to individuals who are registered on any IT & networking (related) course(s) at a university, college or learning provider and must be nominated by the operating NREN/GÉANT Project Partner
  • The Lightning talk idea must be associated with computer networking or any other technology-related areas.
  • Lightning talk proposals must include: title, participant name, educational institution, short biography, five keywords, and short introduction of the idea (max. 500 words). Abstract must be marked [Topic title + FTP20]
  • Participants commit themselves to the full programme and therefore must have access to a computer with a webcam to join the webinar
  • Selected participants will present at TNC20
  • High English language proficiency is required
  • All participants are invited to share their experiences on social media.

How to Apply (NRENs)

Step 1 Register your candidate online until 28 February 2020 with a brief description of the candidate's topic.

Step 2 All accepted candidates will become participants of the Future Talent Programme and will receive training. Your participant takes part in the e-workshops in March and April. Dates and Programme will be confirmed to you and your participant by email.

Step 3 Participants submit their proposal to TNC Programme Committee by 09 March 2020, midnight CET. 

Step 4 Participants will be notified by the TNC Programme Committee  of the acceptance or rejection of the proposal

Step 5 Selected candidates take further training and take centre stage at TNC20


Timeline 

28.02.21Registration deadline
Mar11TNC21 Lightning Talk Submission deadline
May21Welcome + Training Programme
Jun21Participation in TNC21







Submit Application!

Application deadline  for NRENs 
28 Feb 2021

Technical Areas

Identity and Access Management

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is about creating and managing digital identity for users, which can be used to represent a person in the digital world. Using state of the art authentication and authorization methods ensures that only the owner can access his identity and only entitled can access a resource.

In this area, it is all about Identity Providers, Identity Federation, Service Providers and Discovery Services. Your project may improve existing software solutions or create new applications for a global community.

Standards and Protocols

Building on top of existing infrastructure and applications, Standards and Protocols is about creating new ways to for applications and users to communicate.
This area is all about protocols and standards used or being developed in the global Trust and Identity community, like the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) and Open ID Connect (OIDC), which will be used to integrate new capabilities in an already existing large infrastructure.

Security and Privacy

Security is an integral part of most applications and infrastructures. Ensuring data protection, privacy and safety by using measures like encryption and cryptography is nowadays mandatory.

In this area, you may investigate, test and integrate new security features in existing Trust & Identity applications or to create new services that help secure our community, by working on for example multi factor authentication or HSM technologies.



Schedule  

Mar-Jun 2021

22 Feb 2021  
Application deadline 

22 Feb 2021 (wk 8) 
Application review and CV selections.

wk 8- 9  (2 weeks until 5 Mar21)
Time for NRENs to organise logistics and set up of the participant (internship contract , mentorship interaction, (virtual) workspace, time sheets and other local NREN working procedures.

5 Mar 2021 - 14 Sep 2021 (wk10)
Start TIM internship programme  



Promotion materials  

To help NRENs promote the programme and recruit participants we have available the following materials :

Download materials

News and Copy

Also, feel free to use words and copy from news items we create in different places to promote the programme:

Experiences from the first T&I Incubator Mentorship (TIM) programme  

Nov, 2020- Connect online

GÉANT internships through TIM (Trust and Identity Mentorship) Programme 

April 10, 2020, GLAD website

Let’s talk about the Trust & Identity Mentorship Programme

30th Aug 2019, CONNECT online

Brighten the future of Trust & Identity

21st June 2019, CONNECT online

Frequently Asked Questions

TIM programme is a mentorship programme. What we mean by that is that it aims to advance participants' careers and professional skills through a collaborate and -creative work on real-life projects. For this TIM participants (mentees) join T&I Incubator team (mentors) and work hand-in-hand with them on the current, live T&I projects. This -creative and dynamic context allows participants to develop their expertise in T&I field  advance their interpersonal skills, such as communication and influencing.

To reinforce and support these learnings, GLAD team will offer to the participants Agile/SCRUM training and a communication skills training.  There is also a local mentor who can assist participants on their learning journey. ‘Learning by doing’ and ‘learning through doing’ represent the underlying ethos of the programme, therefore proactive attitude and growth mindset are an absolute must. 

Any early career candidate nominated by a GÉANT Project NREN partner registered at a university or college in a GÉANT partner country or working in the NREN community.

Participation happens through a paid internship at the hosting NREN, who will claim manpower from the GEANT project and pays the trainee.

Depending on the number of  candidates in the programme, maximal 1 candidate per NREN.

Ideal candidates are last year's BA, Master and PhD level students in Computer Science, Engineering or other Technology fields with in computer networks who want to commit time and energy to learn and develop themselves beyond the basic university programme.


The Trust & Identity Incubator addresses different topics in different work areas that are being announced before each new cycle. NRENs can get involved in the topics that speak to them. See also TIM Technical Areas.

A six months professional internship requires time and dedication and interest from all parties involved. Motivation is essential both for the student as for the NREN.  After  a positive review, the T&I selection Committee will invite the hosting NREN together with their candidate for an  interview to complete the recruitment.   

A complete application includes a motivation letter of the hosting NREN and the candidate's motivation letter and CV. Send this to glad@geant.org.  

Your role as a mentor is to engage with your protege and provide encouragement and advice during the programme and related events.  You can find more info on the mentor role in the NREN_mentorship presentation slides available in TIM Resources Package ( for NRENs)

Have a different question? 
Email: glad@geant.org or leave a comment at the bottom of this page.