Focus: Design Thinking SkillsT&I, agile software development, idea prototyping, public speaking skills, mentorship

TIM Challenge (Trust and Identity Incubator Mentorship) Programme is a new an initiative which that brings together ambitious young talents minds and subject matters experts to pioneer and prototype new ideas in the Trust and Identity Incubator[1]field.

TIM is a collaboration between Future Talent Programme and the GN4.3 WP5 subject experts (SME's and also known as content mentors) of WP5 T2 - T&I Incubator task, GLAD, NRENs (home mentors) and young professionals (participants) across Europe. The program aims to deliver max 2 incubation projects per year as well as promote collaboration between NRENs and young talents in the community. TIM runs two times per year (2 cycles of 6 months) and starts in February and in August.

• Young talents nominated by the NREN collaborate in (TIM) teams with a mission to solve a Trust and Identity challenge
• Competing (TIM) teams conceptualise and prototype their most innovative ideas with ongoing coaching and guidance from T&I experts
• Two prototypes will be selected for the T&I incubator by an expert panel
• During a 5-6 months internship one consolidated TIM team collaborate to develop the prototype into a product or service

Focus: Design Thinking Skills, public speaking skills

The TIM Challenge (Trust and Identity Incubator Mentorship) is a new initiative which brings together ambitious young talents and subject matters experts to pioneer new ideas in the Trust and Identity Incubator[1]. TIM is a collaboration between Future Talent Programme and the GN4.3 WP5 T&I Incubator task. The program aims to deliver max 2 incubation projects per year as well as promote collaboration between NRENs and young talents in the community. TIM runs two times per year (2 cycles of 6 months) and starts in February and in August.

• Young talents nominated by the NREN collaborate in (TIM) teams with a mission to solve a Trust and Identity challenge
• Competing (TIM) teams conceptualise and prototype their most innovative ideas with ongoing coaching and guidance from T&I experts
• Two prototypes will be selected for the T&I incubator by an expert panel
• During a 5-6 months internship one consolidated TIM team collaborate to develop the prototype into a product or service

What’s included

• Design thinking f2f workshop including travel and accommodation for students and NREN mentor
• Practical and interactive workshops under the guidance of professional public speaking coach for all students
• 1:1 coaching on public speaking for finalists
• Conference travel package for finalists

Requirements student

• This challenge is open to individual(s) who are registered on any IT & networking (related) course(s) at a university, college or learning provider and must be nominated by the operating NREN/GÉANT Project Partner

• Participants commit themselves to the full training programme.
• Participants opt to work in the T&I incubator via the local NREN.
• Selected participants will sign a volunteer contract in order to present at international conference
• High English language proficiency is required.
• All participants are invited to share their experiences on social media.

Requirements NREN

• NREN can subscribe to max 1 of 5 topics
• NREN is allowed to nominate max 1 candidate per topic
• NREN is responsible for mentorship agreement with the intern
• NRENs must commit significant amount of time of the student to the incubator (at minimum 0.8 FTE
• Time of the young talents may be claimed from the GEANT4-3 T&II project.

Timeline

Cycles start in August and in February

Aug - Oct

Registration and Participation

How to Apply and further steps

Step 1 Select your topic and register your candidate online

Step 2 All accepted candidates will become participants of the Future Talent Programme and will receive training. Your participants takes part in the e-workshops in March and April. Dates and Programme will be confirmed to you and your participant by email.

Step 3 Allocate a mentor who will guide and support the participants

Step 4 Prepare the organisation of the internship

overall aim of the program it to contribute to a viable and sustainable pipeline of T&I products and services for the GN4.3 project and ultimately, for the European NREN community.

Nominated by their home NREN, participants (and their home mentors) are integrated into the work of the T&I incubator right from the start. They collaborate directly with the Incubator SMEs on the topics provided by SME's. On this journey, they are mentored by the Incubator experts and the home NREN, and supported by GLAD. All participants are expected to present their final work or work in progress at the international event or conference advised by TIM SMEs. 

TIM takes place in the form of a paid internship where the participating NRENs and young professionals get reimbursed for the time dedicated to the T&I Incubator. The process of reimbursed and rates are defined by the financial rules of GN4.3 project.

The expected duration of each TIM programme cycle is 6 months. The important dates and deadlines of the process can be found below.

What is in it for the young professionals?

TIM offers participants a fantastic opportunity to join the development of the cutting edge solutions in computer networking on Trust & Identity. It is a unique learning and professional development opportunity that offers the following benefits:

• a paid professional internship (can with the thesis writing)
• networking opportunities with the wide range of SMEs working in computer networks and NRENs
• training and skills development in the fields of public speaking and agile software development (SCRUM)

Participant requirements are:

• last year BA, Master's or PhD level students in the fields of Computer Science, Engineering or other technology related fields with the interest in computer networks
• 6 months availability with an approximate workload of 3 days per week 
• Excellent command of English language

What is in it for the home NRENs?

TIM strengthens collaboration across European NRENs in developing new T&I products and services. It is an opportunity to foster the local T&I expertise, learn from experienced SMEs and expand the portfolio of services. It is also a chance to strengthen relationships with the member institutions to identify promising young talents to join the NREN world. 

Home NREN requirements:  

• be a member of GN4.3 project
• be willing to facilitate and administer a paid internship based on the local HR/ legal requirements
• be willing to mentor participants locally (for example, be a sounding board to the experience, provide a working space, introduce to the home NREN and NREN world in general)
• have a manpower to support TIM with a workload of 1/2 - 1 day per week based on month cycle

What is in it for GLAD?

GÉANT Learning and Development team (GLAD) is passionate about building, diversifying and strengthening capabilities of European NREN community. With the help of TIM, we hope to disseminate and build T&I competencies across Europe to build the workforce of the future.

In course of TIM, GLAD is also committed to deliver the following skills to the TIM participants and mentors:

• mentorship skills
• public speaking skills
• agile software development/ SCRUM training