We are joined by the directors of the five NRENs beneficiary partners involved in the EU-funded ‘EU4Digital: Connecting Research and Education Communities (EaPConnect)’ project: ASNET from Armenia, AzScienceNet from Azerbaijan, GRENA from Georgia, RENAM from Moldova and URAN from Ukraine. Launched in 2015, the EaPConnect project has empowered universities, research institutions, and students throughout the Eastern Partnership countries by providing high-capacity network infrastructure, facilitating international collaboration, and ensuring access to cutting-edge digital resources. As EaPConnect celebrates its 10th anniversary and nears its conclusion in June 2025, it’s an ideal moment to reflect on its achievements and impact on the NRENs, research, education, and society as a whole.
This five-way interview aims to explore the lasting effects of EaPConnect over the past decade, the challenges overcome, and its future legacy beyond its formal conclusion.
Looking back at the past 10 years, how would you describe the impact of the EaPConnect project on the research and education landscape in your NREN and your country?
Hrachya Astsatryan, ASNET-AM, Armenia
The EaPConnect project has significantly impacted Armenia by smoothly integrating the Armenian NREN into the GÉANT pan-European network. It has opened new opportunities for collaborative research, international partnerships, and academic mobility, positioning Armenia as a full member of the global research community.
Rasim Alguliyev, AzScienceNet, Azerbaijan
The EaPConnect project has greatly improved Azerbaijan’s research and educational environment during the last ten years through its collaboration with the country’s NREN AzScienceNet NOC. This collaboration has resulted in enhanced international cooperation, better internet connectivity, and access to advanced services for the Azerbaijani research and education community. A significant achievement was the official signing, in 2018, of a high-level agreement to improve collaboration between Azerbaijan’s universities and their European counterparts.
Ramaz Kvatadze, GRENA, Georgia
Over the past decade, the EaPConnect project has had a transformative impact on research and education in Georgia. Through the provision of high-capacity network infrastructure, the project has connected our universities, research institutions, and academic communities to international networks, enabling seamless collaboration on a global scale. This improved connectivity has been instrumental in facilitating cutting-edge research, fostering educational exchanges, and enhancing access to international digital resources.
Peter Bogatencov, RENAM, Moldova
The EaPConnect project essentially contributed to improving connectivity in our country. At present, we have two ‘spectrum’ high-capacity internet links: RENAM (Chisinau, Moldova) – URAN (Kyiv, Ukraine) – PSNC (Poznan, Poland) and RENAM (Chisinau, Moldova) – RoEduNet (Bucharest, Romania). Another great impact was on our services, resulting in both the increased services portfolio of RENAM and the expanded use of these services by the end-users in the connected institutions. Over the years, RENAM has significantly enhanced its presence and reputation as an NREN within Moldova’s research and education community.
Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi, URAN, Ukraine
The EaPConnect project has had a profound impact on Ukraine in two key areas. First, it has enabled the development of infrastructure that forms the foundation of the national research and education network. Before EaPConnect, such infrastructure was either non-existent or limited to small sections covering only a few major cities. Today, both networking and computing infrastructure have significantly expanded. We now have a dedicated data centre that supports a wide range of services for the research and education community.
Second, the project has introduced European-standard services to Ukraine’s academic and research institutions. These services have facilitated work, learning, and mobility for researchers, educators, and students. One important example is eduroam, which has played a crucial role during the war. With many students and faculty displaced, eduroam has allowed them to access secure and reliable connectivity outside Ukraine and their home institutions, making their academic work more accessible and efficient.
How has EaPConnect helped to foster stronger research and education links between your NREN and the broader European research community? Could you give an example of a successful cross-border collaboration facilitated by the network?
Hrachya Astsatryan: EaPConnect has enabled Armenian researchers to quickly and efficiently access global datasets through high-speed network connections, such as climate and remote sensing data. The network capacity allows researchers to download large datasets and collaborate with European counterparts without the bottlenecks of traditional networks. Additionally, it opens the door for the global sharing of Armenian digital resources and repositories, such as the Pan-Armenian Digital Library, which consists of over 260,000 digital objects available to the global research community, which is a collaborative initiative between the Polish NREN PSNC and ASNET.
Rasim Alguliyev: Strengthening the research and educational ties between AzScienceNet and the broader European research community has been made possible thanks to EaPConnect. Advanced services and high-speed internet access enable Azerbaijani scholars and researchers to work more productively with their European counterparts. A prime example of successful cross-border collaboration facilitated by EaPConnect is the ‘Connecting Traditions’ concert held in 2019. This event marked the first performance in Azerbaijan using ‘LoLa’ low-latency data transmission technology, enabling artists in geographically distant locations to perform together in real time.
Ramaz Kvatadze: The project has strengthened GRENA’s ties with European research initiatives, leading to increased participation in both European and national R&D projects. A notable example is the engagement of GRENA’s staff in international collaborations. Currently GRENA is partner in four European Commission projects and one project of NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme.
Peter Bogatencov: Primarily, during the project timeline, the links between RENAM and European NRENs were fostered through the continuous sharing of knowledge and bringing services of the European level to Moldova. During the EaPConnect project-related activities, such as workshops and training sessions, many Moldovan representatives met their counterparts from other European universities. These networking opportunities become the starting point for new collaborations, for example, between the Academy of Music Theatre and Fine Arts (Chisinau) and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi: One notable example of successful cross-border collaboration is the participation of Ukrainian universities in the Horizon Europe program. A few institutions leverage the URAN network to engage in joint research projects with European partners under this initiative.
What would you say have been the key benefits of EaPConnect in terms of enhancing research capabilities? Have there been any breakthrough projects or partnerships that were made possible because of the network infrastructure and services provided by the project?
Hrachya Astsatryan: At the start of the EaPConnect project, support from the Italian NREN GARR and the acquisition of servers was crucial for deploying IaaS cloud infrastructure. This laid the foundation for the future Armenian National Supercomputing Centre and provided essential research infrastructure. These services enabled advanced computational capabilities, accelerating large-scale simulations, modelling, and data processing.
Rasim Alguliyev: AzScienceNet has expanded its network infrastructure by connecting new computers across various institutes and organisations of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS). The network infrastructure has been reconstructed using intelligent switches, and Wi-Fi networks. The eduroam service has been deployed in numerous institutions and furthermore eduGAIN has been enhancing secure global access for researchers and students. Through EaPConnect, AzScienceNet has increased the speed of internet access for all connected institutes and organisations to 3Gbit/sec. Additionally, it is important to highlight that by providing continuous internet, computing, and cloud resources, AzScienceNet ensures that Azerbaijani researchers and institutions have the tools and infrastructure they need to engage in research, collaborate internationally, and contribute to global scientific and technological developments.
Ramaz Kvatadze: Through EaPConnect, GRENA’s reliable and scalable network services and cloud infrastructure have enabled Georgian universities to participate in several joint research projects in fields such as environmental science, physics, information technology, and healthcare. This would have been challenging without the robust infrastructure provided by EaPConnect. One impressive example of usage of connectivity and cloud services is represented by the participation of Tbilisi State University and the University of Georgia in the CERN ATLAS and ESFRI neutrino KM3Net experiments.
Peter Bogatencov: Every Moldovan research organisation connected to RENAM can use the eduGAIN inter-federation service and enhance their research capabilities by using available EOSC EU Node services. In particular, RENAM’s network infrastructure is having an impact on the medical domain. we are supporting medical examinations through the DICOM Network by providing computer resources for medical data storage, archiving and processing. And we are assisting the National Colposcopy Network. The video conferencing system based on the BigBlueButton platform provided by RENAM, not only enhances cervical cancer screening and prevention in our country, but enables the creation of a collection of photo and video materials for future learning to modernise the curative and educational processes.
Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi: Before EaPConnect, research traffic from Ukraine was minimal. Now Ukraine actively participates in data exchanges for the Large Hadron Collider (LHCONE), transmitting research data at 10 Gbps between Ukraine, Europe, and the US. Another major achievement has been the establishment of a cloud centre within URAN. The demand for cloud services grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and surged further following Russia’s full-scale invasion to Ukraine. These services now support distance learning and virtual collaborations. Additionally, through EaPConnect, Ukraine became involved in OCRE, gaining access to top-tier cloud providers such as Amazon, which is a crucial step forward for our research and education institutions.
Beyond research and education, how do you think EaPConnect has influenced and brought benefits to society in your country?
Hrachya Astsatryan: EaPConnect, by leveraging the advanced services and capabilities provided by ASNET-AM, has effectively addressed societal challenges in Armenia. For example, it facilitates high-resolution weather forecasting models, enabling more accurate predictions that help mitigate the impact of climate-related disasters. Additionally, it supports drug design by allowing researchers to run complex molecular dynamics simulations and analyse large datasets.
Rasim Alguliyev: EaPConnect has significantly supported Azerbaijan, impacting society beyond research and education. It has brought numerous benefits that drive societal progress by enhancing connectivity, expanding digital infrastructure, and fostering greater collaboration.
Ramaz Kvatadze: By improving connectivity and cloud services, EaPConnect has supported the digital transformation in Georgia. It has enhanced access to digital learning tools and remote collaboration, benefiting students, researchers, and institutions across the whole country. EaPConnect has helped us create a more connected, collaborative, and forward-thinking research and education landscape in Georgia.
Peter Bogatencov: One of the important areas of the EaPConnect project is capacity-building activities. They play a significant role in driving social and societal impact in Moldova, helping to overcome skills challenges in the long-term perspective. The project is an example of positive action, which contributes to sharing collaboration values and open communication.
Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi: The benefits of EaPConnect extend beyond academia and into the cultural sector. For instance, thanks to the high-precision scanner acquired through the project, URAN has been able to assist in preserving Ukraine’s cultural heritage by digitising historical documents, rare books, and research materials. One university has already taken advantage of this opportunity, and we plan to offer digitisation services to museums and libraries in the future. Additionally, the project has facilitated the development of digital libraries. Through EaPConnect, URAN received the dLibra software from Poland’s NREN, PSNC. This platform is now being used by Ukrainian institutions, including the digital library of National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”. EaPConnect has also benefited the healthcare sector, as several medical institutions rely on URAN’s services for their daily operations.
Looking Ahead – As the EaPConnect project heads toward its conclusion in 2025, how important is it for the Eastern Partnership countries to remain integrated with European research and education networks post-EaPConnect?
Hrachya Astsatryan: Eastern Partnership countries must maintain strong integration with European research and education networks, as this plays a vital role in connecting them to global research infrastructures, such as ESFRI projects and EOSC. These connections enable access to cutting-edge facilities, promote collaboration, and ensure alignment with international standards for research excellence and data sharing. Moreover, maintaining these links will enhance our capabilities in emerging fields like artificial intelligence or quantum computing, fostering innovation and strengthening our participation in global scientific advancements.
Rasim Alguliyev: The continuation of collaborative efforts between the EaP countries and the EU in the realm of research and education is vital for mutual growth, innovation and the strengthening of ties between these regions.
Ramaz Kvatadze: Maintaining strong ties with European research and education networks is essential for sustaining the progress made. Continued integration will ensure access to cutting-edge technologies, international collaborations, and advanced digital services.
Peter Bogatencov: To be and remain integrated with European R&E networks is extremely important for Moldova. It means for RENAM, above all, the coordination of efforts and exchange of information – to keep up with technology, digital trends and best practices, providing services and solutions tailored for R&E, which are not locally available.
Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi: For Ukraine, continued integration with European research and education networks is essential. Through EaPConnect, we have built strong partnerships with other NRENs, regularly participating in GEANT workshops, info-sharing sessions, and collaborative projects. We have gained invaluable expertise, solved complex software-related challenges, and received expert guidance from international colleagues. These collaborations have become an integral part of our workflow, and we cannot operate efficiently without them.
Moreover, during the recent challenging years for Ukraine, the support from the GEANT community and individual NRENs has been immense. We see this as not only a professional network but also a strong and reliable community. We aim to continue growing alongside European research and education networks, contributing as a trustworthy and valuable partner and offering support whenever needed.
The legacy of EaPConnect
The legacy of EaPConnect lies not just in the technology, but in the lasting human connections we built and the collaborative spirit we nurtured. The project didn’t just bridge the digital divide; it united countries and people. No longer isolated by geography or technological differences, the EaP NRENs have become part of a collaborative network working toward a common goal: bringing their countries, educators, researchers, and communities closer together.
EaPConnect has fostered an environment conducive to collaboration where each country’s strength is valued. The impact has gone beyond academia, transforming relationships and creating a true sense of partnership and will continue to shape the future of the EaP countries’ digital and research infrastructure for years to come.
