NSRC & FLEXOPTIX Co-operation
Over the last few years, the NSRC calendar for Internet development (https://nsrc.org/calendar ) has become increasingly important in our industry.
Without the calendar maintained by the Network Startup Resource Center, it is almost impossible to keep track of all the Network Operator Group (NOG) meetings, conferences and technical training programs taking place around the world each year. The NSRC calendar has been developed and kept alive via NSRC resources, with a focus on Education, Outreach and Training events for network operators.
Over the years, with maintainers submitting event data from industry, NOGs, Regional Internet Registries, Research and Education Networks, the Internet Society, ICANN and others, the NSRC calendar has evolved into the "Industry Calendar".
At the last APRICOT in Bangkok, the NSRC and FLEXOPTIX team met and reached an agreement that carries forward the values of both. In addition to the calendar, the NSRC supports the Internet development community with technical training and network engineering assistance. NSRC has recruited its own network engineers and trainers from the community, who in turn are sent to events by NSRC to conduct hands-on, lab-based technical training sessions. Additionally, NSRC has its own LEARN section of video-based educational content, which is freely disseminated for use by the community to supplement learning opportunities. See https://learn.nsrc.org/ for more details.
And this is where the similarities between the NSRC team and the FLEXOPTIX team come together:
FLEXOPTIX statement: We specifically support the international community with sponsorships- financial and hands-on contribution through NOG Programme and Organizing committee involvement. Sponsorships are the elementary building block for NOG meetings and the sustainability of NOG communities. It is important to support NOG meetings because not only can we ensure that meetings can happen and take place, but that they have a real impact on building the next generation.
This is why we also invest in fellowship sponsorships to enable participation for community members who do not receive budget from their employers, and more importantly, junior colleagues who are still studying and learning.
Together we (NSRC for 30+ years & FLEXOPTIX for 16 years) make an important contribution to our global community. Training the next generation of Internet developers & engineers is important for both organisations and for this reason, we have concluded this agreement to further develop the NSRC calendar.
We will jointly invest in the further development of our community calendar and continue to maintain this valuable resource as a point of coordination among Network Operator Groups, Regional Internet Registries, Research and Education Networks and others.
NSRC: We appreciate the support from FLEXOPTIX and other sponsors of NSRC’s Internet development activities. The net is not just wires and routers and servers and data centers. The heart of the Internet is made from skilled people working together around the world to create, build, operate and grow the Internet. The combination of improving infrastructure, which creates more supply, and people working together to deliver relevant platforms and services, which drives demand, is good for the whole Internet ecosystem.
FLEXOPTIX: It is a special honour for us to further develop the Community Calendar together with NSRC. The calendar remains a service of the NSRC team, but we can bundle financial and personnel capacities here and work together on innovation. Many thanks to all NSRC sponsors and supporters from the community over the years - https://nsrc.org/supporters.
More about NSRC Calendar: https://nsrc.org/calendar/
More about NSRC LEARN: https://learn.nsrc.org/about
More about Flexoptix: https://www.flexoptix.net/en/
