EGI chooses Amsterdam Science Park for European headquarters
The European Grid Initiative (EGI) will open its new headquarters at the Science Park in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. With aims to connect important European data centres, EGI plans to arrive before the summer of 2010.
EGI European headquarters
The objective of EGI is to create and maintain a pan-European grid infrastructure in collaboration with National Grid Iniatives (NGIs) in order to guarantee the long-term availability of a generic e-infrastructure for all European research communities and their international collaborators.
Amsterdam was chosen out of eight other European cities such as Lyon and Milan. In the end, Amsterdam, and the Science Park in particular, was considered the most desirable location.
Amsterdam's easy access
"An important factor is the state-of-the-art infrastructure in the area", explains Arjen van Rijn, president of the national grid project BiG Grid's executive team. "People can travel fast and comfortably to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the centre of Amsterdam is very close by as well. This is a great benefit for all the international employees who will be working in the new headquarters".
ICT Hub
Another plus for the Science Park is the excellent IT infrastructure that the Amsterdam Area has in place. Literally the biggest Internet hub in Europe, the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), is based at Science Park Amsterdam. This powerful and stable global Internet hub has supported the rise of a dynamic digital sector: Internet service providers, mobile operators, web hosts, content and VoIP providers, and applications specialists.
"The municipality of Amsterdam is extremely pleased that the EGI.org Policy Board has decided to establish its head office at the Science Park", says Lodewijk Asscher, Alderman for Economic Affairs.
"The Science Park is home to a large cluster of organisations specialising in the natural sciences and IT. EGI will be a perfect complement to this existing structure, helping to improve the climate for commercial activities."
EGI will be a fully functioning coordinative body by early 2010 and funded through membership fees levied from the European member states and an expected contribution from the European Committee.
Science Park Amsterdam
Science Park Amsterdam is an inspiring location for scientists and entrepreneurs to meet, exchange knowledge with one another and develop new commercial and scientific initiatives jointly or among themselves.
The park is located in the Watergraafsmeer district in Amsterdam and is the international knowledge centre for natural sciences, based around a collaboration between the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the City of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
Read more about the Science Park.
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