On Monday (16/08), RNP started the 22nd edition of WRNP, a workshop held annually that aims to bring the scientific community closer to the innovation ecosystem in the country. The event, which takes place on August 16 and 17, 100% online, discusses the main technological advances in Research and Development in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), inside and outside of Brazil.

This year, there were two parallel tracks, with 57 lecturers and 15.5 hours of content, in addition to a Virtual Fair displaying 19 e-banners from the academic community.

On the first day of the event, RNP presented the evolution of the Ipê network, the results of the R&D Program in Advanced Services, and its new Testbeds service. Among the issues discussed along with the academic community are decentralized digital identity, cybersecurity and privacy, OpenRAN, and network monitoring. 

In the opening of proceedings on Stage B, the Technical Committees of Blockchain and Identity Management teamed up to promote a debate on decentralized digital identity. Maria Theresa Aaron, Blockchain Academy, was in charge of moderating the panel, and three researchers experts on the topic were invited to share their perspectives: Arlindo da Conceição (Unifesp), Frederico Schardong (UFSC and IFRS), and Fernando Marino (CPqD).

Ellalink and project BELLA

The event also promoted a panel on the cable Ellalink and project BELLA, with Michael Stanton (RNP), Fernando Liello (GARR), and Marco Teixeira (RedCLARA) as panelists. The chief executive officer of the Nucleus of Information and Coordination of Point BR (NIC.br), Demi Getschko, was a guest speaker and talked about the threat of Internet fragmentation, principles to ensure an Internet that is open, interconnected, and interoperable.

GTs Program

At the beginning of the afternoon, the results of eight GTs (Working Groups) of the R&D Program for Advanced Services were presented, offering solutions ranging from prevention of data and information breach and reduction of electric power costs in institutions, divided into Stages 1 and 2.

They are:

• Stage 1: GT-RLProviDe-MI (UFF); GT-ChainID (UFBA); GT-FeedbackBot (UFRPE); and GT-Arquimedes (UFMG).
• Stage 2: GT-Litecampus (UFCG); GT-Periscope (Earlysec); GT-Recmem (BrainyIT); and GT-V4H (UFPB).

Currently, each one of the groups in Stage 1 is developing a minimum viable product, with a focus on its evolution and validation of the business model by members of the RNP system. Those in Stage 2 have improved the services and products designed and developed initial offers for NasNuvens. 

About the marketplace of RNP, the associate director of Services of RNP, Luiz Coelho, explained: "These are solutions made by the academia to the academia. With NasNuvens, we want to accelerate the provision of services by the HEI [higher education Institution] to its community, strengthen the bond between students and their institutions, and strengthen the partnership between researchers and the IT department in their institutions. We are investing in a platform on which these services can be consumed by institutions in an easier and more streamlined way."

OpenRAN

The panel "OpenRAN: challenges and opportunities in Brazil" was moderated by José Rezende, the technical-scientific adviser of RNP. Before inviting the participants to contribute to the discussion, he defined and contextualized OpenRAN, a protocol that focuses on the development of standard, open and neutral hardware and software. José Marcos Camara Brito (Inatel), Gustavo Correa (CPqD), and Christiano Both (Unisinos) participated in the discussion.

Informatics law

In addition, the Secretariat of Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI) made a presentation about the Law of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as an instrument of technological development in the country. The law provides an incentive to companies that invest 4% of their revenue in Research and Development activities.

According to the MCTI, the Law of ICT, which has been in force for 29 years, has already benefited over 600 companies, 20,000 researchers and created more than 110 thousand direct jobs. "The role of RNP is fundamental because its activities provide huge safety to companies. When a company brings resources to a project coordinated by RNP, they know that their investment will be worthwhile", stated the representative of MCTI, Henrique de Oliveira Miguel.

What is ahead?

On its second day, the event will bring to the public panels and lectures on Blockchain, Open Science, new-generation wireless networks (5G/6G), cloud and edge computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship, among other topics.

Among the speakers confirmed for this edition are the keynote speakers Sandro Cortezia, from Ventiur Aceleradora, who will give a presentation on the Legal Framework for Startups, and Lindália Reis, CEO of the Hacking Rio event, in a panel on women in IT.

This year, the Workshop RNP (WRNP) is sponsored by Microsoft, Bedutech and Google Cloud, Huawei, dataRain and AWS, Grupo Binário, Microhard and Padtec, and supported by Capes and the Managing Committee of Internet in Brazil (CGI.br). The WRNP traditionally occurs simultaneously with the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Networks and Distributed Systems  (SBRC), organized by the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC).

To register, access: wrnp.rnp.br/inscricao.