Amidst a wealth of exiting tasks and challenges, NORDUnet takes a moment to celebrate four decades of service to the Nordic higher education and research communities.

The birth of a joint network for the Nordic universities can be traced back to a conference held in Tällberg, Sweden, in 1980. While 40 years later the technical specifications for the infrastructure at that time will only raise smiles, the original scope remains unchanged. Just like then, the organization today known as NORDUnet builds on a collaborative Nordic spirit paired with an understanding of the need for joining forces.

Little could the participants at the conference in Tällberg have known just how much communications technology would come to change research and education – and society in general – over the coming decades. Here, at the time of the anniversary, the tasks and challenges of NORDUnet are more relevant than ever.

In a time of pandemic and numerous national lockdowns and restrictions, the need to learn and work remotely has skyrocketed. This has put national research and education networks (NRENs) all across the globe under great strain, but also opened plenty of opportunities for strengthening infrastructure and providing new digital solutions. NORDUnet and the NRENs of the Nordic countries have proven well positioned to meet the new challenges.

Remote learning has spiked in all Nordic countries, and chances are this will be a lasting tendency, likely to continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic has come under control.

In a Nordic perspective, another significant development will be the new possibilities for building infrastructure in the Arctic region. Much as the changing climate is problematic in many regards, the warmer temperatures do make it easer to construct and maintain cables, cable landing stations etc. in places that were previously not accessible.

In other words, NORDUnet has never seen a more exiting and busy time. Yet, we did not want to let the anniversary go by without taking a moment to reflect on our first 40 years.

​1980-2020

Celebrating 40 years of Nordic networking and collaboration

The NORDUnet collaboration started with the first NORDUnet Conference in 1980, and evolved into a dedicated, Nordic network during the NORDUNET programme (1986 to 1992) financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers. 30 NORDUnet conferences ago an unparalleled collaborative set-up came into being and at this year's 31st Conference in Iceland we will celebrate. Learn more about the conference in www.ndn2020.net

At the 25 year anniversary of the NORDUnet collaboration, NORDUnet published the book Twenty-Five Years of Networking Cooperation in the Nordic Countries, detailing the first 25 years of the NORDUnet history.  The book is available for online reading and download.