International cooperation

CARNET participates in a series of international activities. The backbone of CARNET's international cooperation is collaboration with other academic and research networks in Europe, so-called NRENs (NREN – National Academic and Research Network), the GÉANT Association, and internet resource management organizations worldwide. Through its international activities, CARNET also connects the Croatian research and education community with the European Research Area (European Research Area), the European Higher Education Area (European Higher Education Areaglobally.

CARNET within the scope of international cooperation:

• practice activities of other academic networks in Europe
• participates in the work of international organizations that bring together national, educational, academic, and research networks
• encourages the involvement of the Croatian academic community in international projects in the field of research and application of information technologies
• provides coordination support for the participation of CARNET employees in international projects.

Through CARNET's participation in international projects and collaboration with international organizations, CARNET's staff and associates are simultaneously building their human capacity through increased involvement in projects and greater absorption of funds, and they themselves become a stable communication channel for CARNET towards foreign countries. Over the years, CARNET has established itself as a desirable and reliable partner in numerous projects, which also leads to an ever-increasing volume of CARNET's international activities.

Special emphasis has been placed on presenting Croatia and its academic and research community to the world, both by organizing numerous conferences in the country and by participating in international conferences. By intensifying international contacts and activities, a network conducive to the exchange of information and best practices regarding the organizational and technological aspects of academic and research networks is being created.

The most important project being implemented within the framework of international cooperation is participation in the pan-European infrastructure project GÉANT5-1 and GÉANT5-2. 

CARNET's international activities also include active membership in several organizations:

• Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR)
• Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST)
• GÉANT Association
• The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
• European IP Networks (RIPE)
• Croatian Informatics Association
• Croatian Society for Information, Communication and Electronic Technology (MIPRO)
• Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association (CroAI)
• The Croatian Academy of Engineering (HATZ)

Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR)

CENTR is an association that brings together European organizations responsible for the administration of country code top-level domains, with the goal of promoting and participating in the development of high standards and best practices in domain administration. CARNET joined this organization in 1999.

CARNET contributes to the work of CENTR through active engagement in the General Assembly.General Assembly) and participation in various working groups (Administrative, Legal and Regulatory, Research and Development, Security, Technical, Marketing).

Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST)

FIRST is an international organization of cybersecurity teams that deal with resolving computer security incidents (reactive measures) and preventing them (proactive measures). It was founded in 1990 and today has more than 400 members. The goals of FIRST's work include coordinating the preventive actions of its members, raising the level of cybersecurity nationally and internationally, raising public awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, and promoting the role of CSIRTs.Computer Security Incident Response Team).

CARNET's National CERT department is a member of the organization Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) working groups within which it cooperates internationally with other member states. CARNET's National CERT became a member of FIRST on October 1, 2009.

GÉANT Association

GÉANT Association is an association that was formed in October 2014 through the merger of TERENA (Trans European Research and Education Networking AssociationDanteDelivery of Advanced Network Technology to EuropeUntil then, TERENA was an association owned by European academic networks, and DANTE was the company that managed the pan-European GÉANT project.

CARNET has been an active member of TERENA since 1993, which brought together more than 30 European countries and their NRENs to create a platform for the development of information and network infrastructure within the European academic and research community. Since most European NRENs participated in the work of TERENA and DANTE, it was agreed by common decision to merge them for more efficient management of the GÉANT project and to improve NREN collaboration. The creation of the GÉANT Association, which united TERENA and DANTE into a single organizational structure, aimed to respond as effectively as possible to new challenges and ensure strategies for achieving the European Commission's goals for the future of research and innovation through Horizon 2020.

Learn more about CARNet's participation in the GÉANT project at pages about the GÉANT project.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

ICANN is a nonprofit organization for the coordination of the domain name system, the allocation of IP address space, the assignment of protocol parameters, and more. CARNET monitors ICANN's activities and recommendations and has been actively participating in the organization's work since 1998.

European IP Networks (RIPE)

RIPE is a forum open to all interested individuals and communities in the field of IP networks and network technologies. RIPE is not a legal entity and does not require formal membership. Anyone interested in the network areas with which RIPE deals can participate through mailing lists and attend working group meetings. RIPE activities take place on a voluntary basis, and decisions are formed by consensus.

RIPE NCC is a legal entity founded in 1992 by RIPE, which, as an administrative body, provides administrative and technical support for RIPE's operations and implements policies adopted by the RIPE community. RIPE NCC is one of the five global RIRs (Regional Internet Registry) responsible for the Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia region. RIPE NCC’s main job is the allocation of global internet resources and providing other related services to its members. The members of the RIPE NCC organization are called Local Internet Registries (LIRs). They are responsible for distributing internet resources, which they receive from RIPE NCC, to their local users. RIPE NCC provides a large number of services to its members, such as the distribution and management of IPv4 and IPv6 address space, AS numbers, administration of the RIPE database, which records all resources from all LIRs, the LIR portal, and RPKI.Resource Certification), RIPE Atlas, RIPEstat, RIPElabs, and various network trainings and workshops.

CARNET has had LIR status since 1992 and has since provided services for the allocation of IPv4 and IPv6 address space and other internet resources to its users, maintains their records in the RIPE database, hosts RIPE workshops and meetings, and resolves other user requests related to RIPE.

Croatian Computer Science Association (HIZ)

The Croatian Computer Society is the umbrella independent professional association of institutions and individuals interested in the development, promotion, and advancement of the application of information and related technologies in the Republic of Croatia. It is a member of CEPIS, IFIP, IT-Star, and the ECDL Foundation.

Croatian Society for Information, Communication and Electronic Technology (MIPRO)

The Croatian Association MIPRO is a non-governmental, non-partisan, and non-profit association whose voluntary members include individuals, business entities, and scientific and educational institutions (individual and group members).

Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association (CroAI)

CroAI, the Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association, was founded in December 2019 and brings together leading companies and startups in the field of artificial intelligence in Croatia. It strives to position Croatia as a country of unique opportunities for the development of human-centric artificial intelligence through a culture of dialogue between entrepreneurs and decision-makers at the national and European levels.

The Croatian Academy of Engineering (HATZ)

The Academy's core activities include research and development in technical sciences, work on projects of national importance, work on projects for ministries, state agencies, and economic entities, fostering and organizing scientific work, preparing scientific studies, expert opinions, reports, and projects, discussing and presenting views on current issues in science and economy, organizing scientific conferences, issuing publications, collaboration with academies domestically and abroad, and knowledge transfer.