From April to December 2026, Radboud University will participate in the Nextcloud pilot organised by SURF, the Dutch ICT cooperative for education and research. This pilot offers a selected group of staff members at our university the opportunity to gain extensive hands-on experience with Nextcloud: an open, sovereign alternative to Microsoft 365 applications.
Why this pilot?
The pilot closely aligns with Radboud University’s ambition to become more digitally sovereign and autonomous. ‘Digital autonomy’ refers to the ability to make independent choices, even when using technology from third parties. ‘Digital sovereignty’ goes a step further and aims for full control over the entire technological chain (software, hardware and data). In the coming years, Radboud University will need to explore new solutions that reduce our dependence on commercial platforms. Nextcloud —established by SURF as a community service for vocational and higher education (mbo/hbo/wo)—is currently the most widely used sovereign alternative to Microsoft 365.
This pilot provides the university with an opportunity to:
- Discover and test new digital ways of working;
- Gain practical experience with migration processes;
- Explore which solutions best fit our education, research and support processes;
- Provide SURF with insights regarding functionality, usability and required support.
What does the pilot involve?
Staff members participating in this pilot will carry out part of their daily work in Nextcloud for an extended period (at least six months). This is therefore not a brief exploration, but actual work in a production-ready environment. Initially, 100 places are available.
Email integration (such as linking Outlook email and calendars) will not yet be available at the start of the pilot; discussions on this are still ongoing with SURF. This functionality is expected to become available during the course of the pilot.
Support
Are you interested in participating in this pilot? If so, please sign up using the registration form. Additional spots may become available in the future.
Support for the Nextcloud Pilot
To ensure participants in the Nextcloud pilot can work as smoothly as possible within the SURF Works environment, support is provided by Information & Library Services (ILS). Participants can visit a channel within Nextcloud or contact the IT Help Desk for the latest news, urgent questions, or support information.