Kickstart TechEX: Transform Your Learning Experience at this Premier Pre-Conference Event

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Get ready for the 2025 Internet2 Technology Exchange, taking place from December 8 to 12 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown in Denver, Colorado!

While the general conference officially opens Dec. 9, you have an exclusive opportunity on Dec. 8 to sharpen your skills, share strategies, and collaborate with your peers across the research and education (R&E) community. The day before TechEX, the Sheraton Denver Downtown will be buzzing with active full and half-day tutorials designed to deepen your expertise or introduce you to a relevant but unfamiliar topic in the field—you choose. 

Facilitated by community voices, this year’s tutorials run the gamut in subject matter and in upscaling tangible skills that will make a substantial impact at your institution. Imagine tackling real-world challenges, taking a peek inside Large Language Models (LLMs), and learning to build your own chatbot. Envision a GameDay AWS simulation where you acquire business and technical skills applicable to the day-to-day.

These interactive sessions allow a unique experience to collaborate with peers as you dive deeper into Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to understand advanced routing, unpack the use of SmartNICs for workload offloading, explore AI tools and their roles in campus operations, and loads more. These immersive experiences are designed to transform your understanding and provide skills you can implement the very next day!

This pre-conference series offers morning and afternoon snacks, lunch, and 18 distinct opportunities to participate in practical workshops, giving you the freedom to engage whenever it suits you—morning, afternoon, or throughout the entire day—all at a fraction of the cost of traditional professional development programs.

Full-Day Tutorials at TechEx25 Run From 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. MT

• Beyond the Core: Deploying IPv6 Networks to End Users – Boost your understanding of IPv6 deployment! Engage in practical lab exercises that enable you to confidently and securely implement effective IPv6 solutions for end-user environments using transition technologies and Layer 2 protections.
• Get Good with GitOps – Master your software deployments with GitOps! Learn GitOps techniques, how to build a serverless web app, how to define infrastructure-as-code, and implement a robust CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions.
• perfSONAR Tutorial  – Discover the latest in network measurement and unlock perfSONAR’s full potential! Led by perfSONAR developers, this hands-on experience guides you through installing, using, and customizing the platform, including setting up measurement hosts and building your own custom dashboard.

Morning Tutorials at TechEx25 Run From 8-11:30 a.m. MT

• A Hands-on Tutorial on BGP – Curious to explore Border Gateway Protocol in a safe, virtual environment? Learn how to create pathways for data to reach its destination in this pragmatic workshop as you manipulate BGP assets, deploy internetworks, and acquire advanced routing skills. 
• AWS GameDay: Migration – Want to learn about AWS through a low-stakes simulation? This session places you in a startup called Unicorn and teaches you best practices in AWS migration and modernization, allowing you to gain hands-on experience in a gamified environment.
• BGP For Data Centers: Designing, Deploying and Troubleshooting BGP in a Leaf-Spine Architecture – Learn BGP and its role in modern data centers! This workshop offers practical experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting BGP in leaf-spine architectures, covering essential topics such as eBGP/iBGP and route reflectors, suitable for both beginners and intermediate skill levels. 
• Google Cloud Foundations Tutorial – Establish a solid foundation for understanding the cloud! This tutorial teaches you to build secure and scalable environments in Google Cloud. By launching your own cloud project, learn pertinent skills, configure essential services, and understand core components of a secure landing zone.
• Hands-On Tutorial on Infrastructure Workload Offloading Using SmartNICs/DPUs – Unlock prime performance by offloading intensive workloads! This hands-on tutorial models how to configure and manage DPU-based solutions to enhance output, reduce inactivity, and improve the scalability and security of your computing infrastructure using SmartNICs.
• Multi-Cloud Networking with Internet2 Cloud Router – Connect your cloud universe! This hands-on tutorial guides you through establishing direct and secure multi-cloud connections using Internet2 Cloud Router, providing practical experience with its Insight Console and routing functionalities. 
• Network Troubleshooting with Generative AI – Transform your network troubleshooting with AI! This tutorial guides you in building a chatbot using a common LLM, LangGraph, and Streamlit, empowering you to leverage generative AI for querying network states and making inferences to solve problems faster.
• Rethinking Campus Connectivity for Higher Ed – Want to learn how to overcome the limitations of traditional Wi-Fi and solve campus connectivity challenges to drive innovation? This session equips higher education IT leaders with a strategic understanding of advanced wireless solutions like Private 5G and Neutral Host.

Afternoon Tutorials at TechEx25 Run From 1-4:30 p.m. MT

• BGP and Route Policy for R&E Networks – Is your BGP route policy optimized for security and performance in your R&E network? This hands-on tutorial guides you through multiple activities, helping equip you with best practices and a troubleshooting tool for configuring BGP. 
• Building Your Institution’s AI-Powered Future: A Hands-On Cloud Analytics Tutorial – Move beyond theoretical discussions! This hands-on workshop, ideal for technical and strategic leaders, will teach you how to deploy and configure cloud-based solutions using real-world datasets to address challenges such as student engagement and success. 
• DWDM Fiber Optic Networking Concepts and Technologies – Decode the complexities of Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) and enhance your network’s capacity! This tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of DWDM, from fiber principles to optical switching, troubleshooting, testing, and more!
• Gemini Code Assist Essentials – Looking to excel in software development? This intermediate tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of Gemini Code Assist, unpacking its core features of productivity and collaboration, helping you explore its capabilities.
• Hands-On AWS Networking for Non-Cloud Majors  – Want to learn AWS networking by building a small network? This workshop bridges the gap between on-prem and cloud networking by teaching you to build, route, and connect AWS networks to your campus, providing hands-on experience with VPCs, routing, and hybrid connectivity.
• Implementing CI/CD Pipeline in a NetDevOps Environment – Transform your network engineering with the power of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment! This hands-on tutorial delves into the theories and practices of CI/CD in a NetDevOps context, guiding you through building pipelines with GitLab and automating network tasks.
• Mobility Day at TechEX – Stay “in the know” of evolving mobile network technologies! This tutorial provides updates and discussions on critical topics like eduroam, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and IoT, ensuring you’re informed on the latest advancements and initiatives in mobility.

Take a Deep Dive Into These Tutorials

Check out a complete description of goals and objectives for each tutorial occurring at the 2025 Internet2 Technology Exchange. Learn the practical skills you’ll take back to your institutions. Visit the TechEX25 website to learn more about this event, session offerings, and to register for your tutorial as you sign up for the conference. Explore registration information and travel information to secure your spot at TechEX25, an event you don’t want to miss.