4th EIFFEL Think Tank meeting1st EIFFEL Think Tank meeting
September 30 and October 1, 2008
Venue: Hotel Steigenberger Frankfurt-Langen, Germany
Background
The EIFFEL project is mobilizing researchers and experts in Europe and beyond to debate and confront ideas and positions on the future of the Internet and its (r)evolution towards the development of the Future Networked Society.
For this purpose, the EIFFEL project is setting up a pan-European discussion forum and technical think tank on enabling conflict-free, talented and scientifically oriented discussions around the future of the Internet.
Its overall objective is to provide a place for discussing and exchanging ideas and research trajectories on the future of the Internet architecture and governance building and to publish the conclusions of these discussions.
Aim and scope
The EIFFEL Think Tank is the main tool for stimulating debate among experts. It targets top-level researchers from all over the world to come together in order to discuss the status and directions of Future Internet research and identify the key issues where significant energy and effort needs to be directed. The conclusions of the Think tank will form an input to the research agendss in the European research programmes, National research programmes in and the various European technology Platforms related to the Future Internet research.
It is expected that the scope and direction of discussions will be defined by the participants positions and the degress of consensus we can form on the key challenges.
Call for contributions
The Think Tank meeting solicits submissions of original and controversial contributions, aimed for debate with the fellow researchers at the meeting. The first Think Tank meeting will debate widely research opportunities and challenges in the field. One of the aims is to understand what are the real problems in current networks; we expect serious debate on whether new architectural principles are required.
Accordingly all invited participants are now invited to prepare a short elaboration of their view on what the key challenges - one or two powerpoint slides would be ideal.
These contributions are intended to give guidance to the discussions by identifying topics and issues of high interest and working out their relevance to the community. The results of this discussion will form the agendas for any break out sessions in the first think tank meeting and the agendas for the future Eiffel think tank meetings.
Given that this is the first meeting of the EIFFEL think tank, we ask contributors to focus on the need for change and the ways to achieve this change.
More concretely, answers to questions like Do we really need change? What is the evidence? are of interest.
Another potential focus of our discussion could revolve around (but is not intended to be limited to) the role of clean slate in pushing the development of new architectural principles. What is our understanding of the term clean slate? Is it just hype (i.e., a way to get research funding)? Or a serious approach to use design methodologies that can help us unearthen some of the new ways of thinking, potentially required to push us forward? Or, is it an unrealistic goal of deploying new solutions without knowing if it is for the better or worse?
Expected results
The intended outcomes of these meetings are position papers on issues identified in the meetings, manifestos on architectural directions and generally recommendations on steps forward.
The position papers and manifestos are to be freely usable by the participants and will be widely disseminated. We encourage people to disseminate them towards other interested bodies, e.g., National and/or Regional funding agencies.
One of the longer term goals (using the output of the Think Tanks) is also to give reasoned rationale and recommendations on the research needs in the field by collectively producing a full book-length document.
All participants are asked to note that all contributions will be put in the public discussion space of the EIFFEL project and published by the EIFFEL project as part of the event report. Participation and the provision of a contribution is explicitly understood as giving your agreement to the publication of your contributed material by the EIFFEL project.
Format of the Think Tank
The first Think Tank meeting is intended to widely debate research opportunities and challenges which we are facing. The topics are not particularly limited. Participants are encouraged to suggest small 10 (max. 15) minutes preparatory talks to the organizers. The main part of the meeting is dedicated to open technical debate to try and get a feel for the importance of issues and which ones need to be addressed immediately. This can include a debate on the future topics for the second and subsequent meetings. Breakout groups will be used if the number of key topics and the interests of the participants justifies them.
An important part of the Think Tank will be a final session where the agreed conclusions and priorities will be summarised and authorised by the participants.
Participation by invitation
Participation in Eiffel Think Tank meetings is by invitation only. The participants are selected through the recognition of the contribution they are making to the development of the future networked society and their active role in any of the relevant research communities.