Academician Rasim Alguliyev, Vice-President of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) and Director General of the Institute of Information Technology under the Ministry of Science and Education, participated in TNC26, the International European Research and Education Networking Conference held in Helsinki, Finland.

AZERTAC reports that the conference, organized by the GÉANT Association, brought together more than 950 delegates from over 70 countries. During the five-day event, plenary sessions and parallel tracks were held on current trends such as digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and identity and authentication systems.

Within the framework of the conference, Academician Rasim Alguliyev took part in the 39th meeting of the GÉANT Association General Assembly, which was attended solely by official representatives of member countries. The meeting discussed the Association's financial and strategic management issues, the 2025 results, the implementation status of the GN5-2 project, and the new GÉANT Association Strategy 2026-2030.

Academician Rasim Alguliyev also participated in the executive session held as part of TNC26. The session was attended by the heads of leading national research and education networks from Europe and other countries, as well as representatives of major technology organizations. The event featured extensive discussions on the development prospects of quantum technologies, the role of national research and education networks in establishing quantum networks, current global challenges, and international best practices.

Within the framework of the conference, a series of meetings were also held to expand international cooperation. During the meeting with Irina Matthews, Senior Relationship Manager at the GÉANT Association, the focus was on the further development of cooperative relations.

At the meeting held with Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu, Director of ULAKBIM (National Academic Network and Information Center) of TÜBİTAK, and Deputy Director Hayrettin Bucak, prospects for cooperation in the field of quantum technologies were discussed. During the meeting, it was emphasized that, with the support of TÜBİTAK and the European Union, Türkiye's Middle East Technical University has taken important steps toward the development of quantum technologies and that projects aimed at building research and infrastructure capacity in this field are being implemented.

During the meeting with Florian Kaiser, the official representative of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, a detailed exchange of views on quantum technologies and the quantum Internet took place. Furthermore, cooperation prospects with the Quantum Internet Alliance platform, one of Europe's leading initiatives, and the opportunities for Azerbaijan to join this initiative were discussed.