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Six New Jersey higher education institutions are taking important steps to enhance their identity and access management (IAM) readiness with a focus on enabling effective collaboration and resource sharing through Internet2’s InCommon Federation. Last month InCommon and NJEdge.Net, Inc. (Edge) officially kicked off their work with Brookdale Community College, Montclair State University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Rider University, Rowan University, and Saint Peter’s University.
Participating Institutions
- Brookdale Community College
- Montclair State University
- Ramapo College
- Rider University
- Rowan University
- Saint Peter’s University
“We’re pleased to collaborate with NJ Edge on this initiative. We’re helping to educate these six institutions about operating in the InCommon Federation, which will enhance their ability to collaborate and share/access services.”
– Jean Chorazyczewski, director of InCommon Academy and project leadNJEdge.Net, Inc. (Edge), a regional research and education network, is leading the Connectivity Through Regional Infrastructure for Scientific Partnerships, Innovation, and Education (CRISPIE) project in New Jersey. Funded by the NSF CC* grant, CRISPIE brings together seven diverse higher education institutions to enhance connectivity, strengthen collaborations, and promote data-driven research and education.
The InCommon | NJEdge CRISPIE project seeks to enhance collaboration and improve IAM readiness for these higher education institutions, enabling them to actively participate in the InCommon Federation.The project includes workshops, self-paced learning, and collaborative activities to ensure institutions can efficiently share cyberinfrastructure (CI) resources and data through InCommon’s federated environment.
Supporting Small Institutions
Higher education institutions increasingly rely on advanced networks and cyberinfrastructure for teaching, learning, and research. Smaller institutions, however, do not always have the resources or expertise to develop advanced cyberinfrastructure and connectivity, even though access to these resources can be particularly beneficial to them. The CRISPIE project aims to make it easier for them to develop those capabilities.
“Our project will help CRISPIE participating institutions understand and leverage the InCommon Federation. They will learn how the federation works, its role in higher education and research, and its benefits within the consortium and for cross-institutional collaboration.”
– Albert Wu, InCommon Federation managerThese institutions will also have the benefit of learning about technical resources and community-supported tools available to help them adopt federated access and identity. By leveraging the InCommon Federation and providing tailored support, this initiative empowers higher ed institutions to unlock new opportunities for research, collaboration, and innovation.
Next year the six institutions will participate in a solutions salon where InCommon Catalysts and other community members will offer their insights on implementing federated access. Further, the institutions will get exposure to real-life implementations and experiences from other institutions already participating in the federation.
Increasing IAM Readiness
As a key component of this broader initiative, Edge is working with InCommon Federation to address critical IAM needs. IAM readiness is a critical aspect of federation participation. As such, one of the project’s goals is to ensure that CRISPIE participating institutions gain a foundational understanding of IAM concepts.
“They will get insights into optimizing IAM infrastructures to ensure technical readiness,” Chorazyczewski explained. “Doing so helps facilitate their access to services and shared tools. IAM is essential for enabling secure access, collaboration, and resource sharing across institutions, especially for smaller colleges and universities.”
Forough Ghahramani, vice president for research, innovation, and sponsored programs at Edge, echoed these sentiments.“As the principal investigator for the NSF-funded CRISPIE project, I am proud of the collaborative spirit shown by our partner institutions as they enhance their identity, authorization, and access management (IAM) readiness and connectivity,” Ghahramani said. “This initiative provides participants with access to a resource-sharing environment, a regional data transfer node, and advanced network technologies with performance monitoring tools.”
“A key focus on workforce development ensures institutions are equipped to drive innovation and support the research community effectively. These efforts strengthen collaborations and facilitate seamless access to critical resources at regional and national levels. Through Edge’s commitment and the expertise of project partners like InCommon in delivering training, education, and strategic guidance, we advance our mission to democratize access to resources and foster research, education, and innovation across New Jersey’s higher education ecosystem.”
– Forough Ghahramani, vice president for research, innovation, and sponsored programs at EdgeTo this end, during their participation in the project, institutions will have access to InCommon Trusted Access Platform software training for COmanage, Grouper, midPoint, and Shibboleth as well as to InCommon BaseCAMP 2025, a unique, five-day, virtual event designed for those new to IAM and/or InCommon.
InCommon is thrilled to collaborate with NJ Edge on this initiative. Supporting smaller institutions and their ability to leverage technology, high-speed networks, and advanced CI to strengthen collaborations for data-driven research and education is a common goal we share.
About InCommon
InCommon empowers inter-organizational collaboration in research and higher education by providing tailored IAM solutions, specialized tools, and strategic guidance for the privacy, trust, and security needs of R&E. Our community driven approach ensures our offerings address real-world challenges, whether it’s sharing courses between universities, accessing collaborative research platforms, or streamlining authentication for multi-institutional projects. Join us in creating secure, connected spaces where innovation thrives beyond borders. Together, we’ll unlock the full potential of cross-institutional collaboration and drive progress that shapes our collective future.
About NJ Edge
Edge serves as a member-owned, nonprofit provider of high performance optical fiber networking and internetworking, Internet2, and a vast array of best-in-class technology solutions for cybersecurity, educational technologies, cloud computing, and professional managed services. Edge provides these solutions to colleges and universities, K-12 school districts, government entities, hospital networks and nonprofit business entities as part of a membership-based consortium. Edge’s membership spans across the nation. Edge’s common good mission ensures success by empowering members for digital transformation with affordable, reliable and thought-leading purpose-built, advanced connectivity, technologies and services.