Who Participates in the Internet2 Community Exchange?

Both presenters and attendees represent broad the Internet2 community. Participants are diverse in terms of gender, age, experience, and areas of subject matter expertise; they represent a variety of organizations on both a national and global level including—higher education institutions, government laboratories and agencies, affiliate members, regional and state network operators, InCommon participants, global participants, industry partners, and more. Consequently, the conference offers a diverse and content-rich program to appeal across various areas of research and higher education.

The Internet2 Community Exchange is part of the greater Internet2 strategy to convene members of the global research and education community to learn from one another, share best practices and spend time networking with new and existing colleagues.

Through a combination of presentations, working meetings, coordinated discussions, tutorials, and workshops, the Community Exchange brings affordable professional development to more colleagues and provides opportunities to network with professionals across the following types of organizations and roles:

Types of Organizations:

Internet2 Higher Education Member Institutions
InCommon Participant Organizations
State and Regional Network Member Organizations
Affiliate/Federal Affiliate Member Organizations
Global National Research and Education Network Organizations
Government Agencies
Industry Partners
HBCUs, TCUs, and other Minority Serving Insitution Representatives
Research Organizations, Labs

Types of Roles:

Chief Information Officers and their Leadership Teams
IT Directors and Managers
C-Level Leadership (Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Procurement Officers and more)
CEO and Executive Directors
State and Regional Network Operators
Network Directors, Managers, Engineers, and Programmers
Security Professionals
Research Computing and Data Professionals
Researchers
Vice President for Research
Cloud Architects
Identity Architects

Conference evaluations indicate that attendees seek practical takeaways (especially lessons learned and detailed case studies), information on trending issues and threats, the ability to shape community best practices and develop new initiatives, and, of course, professional networking opportunities. They value presenters who provide materials in advance and engage in dialog as part of their session, continuing the conversation throughout the event.

The Internet2 Community Exchange intentionally moves around from year to year to provide variety in locations and entertainment. It can occur as early as March but is often in later April or early May.