The director of Research, Development and Innovation at RNP, Iara Machado, the deputy director of E-Science, Leandro Ciuffo, and the RD&I advisor, José Dieguez, participated in the first in-person meeting of the SPIDER project consortium, in Madrid. The project represents a significant step in promoting and resuming digital cooperation between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC). 

For two days (2/22nd and 23rd, 2024), RNP representatives participated in discussions, presentations and strategic planning sessions with the aim of advancing the project's objectives and strengthening collaborative efforts. The meeting discussed strategies to leverage BELLA network’s activities for the purposes of increasing cooperation in research, development and innovation - and this includes a diagnosis to map ST&I ecosystems -, in addition to identifying and defining actors and focal groups of these ecosystems, both in the European Union and in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

“One of the results of the discussions was a better understanding of the ecosystems of NRENs (National Research and Education Networks) that use the BELLA network through RedClara and Geant", reports director Iara Machado. "We also helped bring the project closer to the Géant network on the European side, as there are no European NRENs on the project team", added deputy director Leandro Ciuffo. 

About the SPIDER project 

The SPIDER project consortium (Strategic Partnership for the Implementation of Digital dialoguEs in R&I cooperation) is part of the Horizon Europe Framework Program (HORIZON) - CL4.  

SPIDER aims to support the exploration of the full potential of the recently created BELLA network and the implementation of the results of the EU-LAC dialogues in the context of digital transformation and research and innovation, proposing a multilateral approach to enable the development of a strategic partnership between relevant stakeholders.  

Image: Publicity/SPIDER Project

In the image, the director of Research, Development and Innovation at RNP, Iara Machado, is third in the front row (from right to left), the deputy director of E-Science, Leandro Ciuffo, is third from left to right, in the last row, and the RD&I advisor, José Dieguez, is the first on the left.