In November, IT cooperative SURF called on its education and research institutions to sign up for a pilot. Did they want to help make universities of applied sciences and research universities less dependent on American software? As it stands, tech companies in the U.S. could, at the push of a button, bring education in the Netherlands to a halt.

There was room for two thousand test users, and the first thousand are now working with the alternative Nextcloud, SURF says. They share files with colleagues, hold video calls, chat with each other, and may soon be able to use a built-in AI assistant. In doing so, they are chipping away on a daily basis at Microsoft’s monopoly in higher education.

The German platform Nextcloud works with open standards, making it possible to use it alongside competing programs. This reduces users’ dependence on a single provider. Nextcloud is also open source: anyone can view the source code and suggest improvements if desired.

Twelve universities

Over the past few months, thirty SURF members have signed up for the pilot, including four universities of applied sciences, twelve research universities, six research institutes, and two university medical centers. SURF does not wish to name the participating institutions.

TU/e is not yet among the participants, says Corry Wouters, Director of Library and Information Services (LIS), when asked. This is because no test environment was available yet. LIS is closely monitoring the pilot and may still decide to join later this year.

This week, SURF announced that the pilot is being expanded. “We’re seeing strong interest among our members in gaining hands-on experience with Nextcloud,” says spokesperson Tom Hoven.

The pilot will run until the end of this year. After that, it should become clear whether Nextcloud deserves a place in the standard software offering for education and research institutions.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.