In order to push the boundaries of research we must turn to innovative technology. And since much of research is being fueled by academic organizations, Cisco is making an investment in our partners and in higher education.

This month in Washington, D.C. the brightest minds in technology will gather for the second annualInternet2 Global Summit, a meeting that brings the scientific and academic communities together to explore the synergy between research and scholarship. The 2015 meeting will focus on collaborative innovations in information technology (IT), infrastructure and next generation applications.

So, what is Cisco's role in Internet2?

Cisco and Internet2 are advancing the fields of research and education through cutting-edge technology. Together we realized the challenges facing higher education decision makers and conducted a survey with 1105 Media to identify the main challenges facing researchers, professors, staff and students around collaboration technologies. The survey revealed that a mixture of collaboration tools is important for research projects to be successful. We discovered that 88% of faculty and 86% of administrators see value in web conferencing and webinars while students favor mobile video collaboration (70%) and web conferencing (63%). The survey results are also represented in an infographic, which exposes the value of cloud technologies on campus.

Additionally, Cisco's UCS Research Appliance is being leveraged by the Internet2 community to address the need to share large files between institutions faster and in a more collaborative manner.

Cisco will join the Internet2 community from April 26-30 at the Renaissance Hotel Downtown in Washington D.C. During this event, we will explore a number of conversations including "what's next" for research institutions, and how global Internet governance can work with digital technology to meet growing demands in education.

We invite you to join Cisco and our partners in higher education at the following happenings:

• Cisco Booth/Exhibit Area demonstrating Cisco Collaboration for Education (DX80, Spark, CMR), Science DMZ and the announcement/introduction of a new Cisco line rate research appliance that was developed in collaboration with I2, SanDisk and CompuCom (Booth#36)
• Opening Keynote presented by Rich Seidner (Monday at 1:30 PM)
• Community Showcase: Building a Private Cloud Based on Openstack -Presented by Dmitry Dukhan (Tuesday at 1:30 PM)
• Research Enablement Panel -Rich Seidner to participate with Michael Harttree there to help (Tuesday at 4:30 PM)

Cisco is proud to be an active partner with Internet2 in the university research community and we look forward to continuing to provide valuable solutions that benefit research and education around the world.

To learn more about Internet2, you can visit the consortium's website here:http://www.internet2.edu/. Also, don't forget to follow the hashtag,#i2summit15from on April 26-30 as key insights from featured keynotes, breakout sessions and showcases are shared live!

We will be back to report on the Internet2 Global Summit next week, so keep your eyes on this space!