The full programme for UbuntuNet Connect 2025 has just been published and it offers a tightly focused agenda that reflects the conference theme “Resilient and Sustainable Research and Education Networks for the Future”. The event will take place on October 30 and October 31, 2025, in Harare, Zimbabwe, and is being hosted by the Zimbabwe Research and Education Network (ZIMREN). The published schedule shows the plenaries, parallel paper sessions, workshops, a women hackathon, and space for exhibitors and partner showcases, making it easy to see where knowledge exchange will happen during the two days.
Reading the programme gives a clear sense of the breadth of voices and topics that will fuel conversations in Harare. Presenters represent national research and education networks from across the UbuntuNet Alliance region and beyond, with speakers from Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, alongside contributors from other regions and international partners. Session themes span disaster recovery and business continuity, open science and FAIR data, high performance computing and cloud infrastructure for research, green and sustainable network strategies, cybersecurity, and practical approaches to monetization and sustainability for NREN services. The programme also lists participation from Crossref in an open science session, which highlights the role of global infrastructure partners in supporting research visibility and interoperability. These multiple perspectives make the conference a forum for practical problem solving as much as for strategic thinking.
Register and Attend the Conference!
The conference is designed for university ICT leaders, librarians, researchers, academics, students, government officers working on ICT and education, private sector technology providers, and the NREN community. Attendees will benefit from peer to peer learning, case studies of network deployments and service innovations, practical sessions on building resilience, and direct conversations with funders and international partners. The programme leaves room for networking and exhibition visits between sessions so delegates can follow up on ideas presented on stage with hands on conversations on the exhibition floor. If you are involved in running or supporting digital research and education infrastructure, or if you provide solutions to that community, the sessions and side conversations will be immediately relevant.
Partner and Exhibit
For organisations considering sponsorship or an exhibition presence this is a strong moment to engage. The UbuntuNet Connect 2025 sponsorship prospectus highlights opportunities for thought leadership, direct access to decision makers in universities and research institutions, and visible branding with a targeted regional audience. The programme demonstrates the variety of stakeholders who will attend and the kinds of sessions where technology providers, service vendors, and research infrastructure partners can add value and find clients and collaborators. To explore the available packages, please contact info@ubuntunet.net .
If you want to explore the programme in detail and plan which sessions you will not miss see the full programme on the UbuntuNet-Connect 2025 webpage. Registration details and information about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are available on the conference page as well. Come to Harare to share your experience, learn practical approaches that work in the region, and help shape resilient and sustainable networks for research and education.