By Tiffany Frank, Program Manager, NET+ Cloud Services and Tara Gyenis, NET+ Program Development Manager
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Internet2 NET+ has launched service evaluations for three cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) solutions: Portkey’s AI Gateway, Vocareum, and Grammarly. These evaluations expand our AI portfolio to support the higher education and research (R&E) community with secure, cost-effective cloud services.
Learn more about these solutions in the Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Finder. This tool provides details on how providers align their services with R&E community needs to prepare for their evaluations.
Portkey Service Evaluation
Portkey AI Gateway was selected for a NET+ service evaluation following a community-driven Request for Information process to identify solutions to help manage access to AI services.
Internet2 members are evaluating Portkey AI Gateway because it offers unified access to more than 250 Large Language Model (LLM) providers through a unified API. This could simplify interactions and minimize AI integration hassles.
The Service Evaluation will thoroughly review the AI Gateway’s capabilities, focusing on its potential to streamline AI integrations within higher education institutions.
Institutions participating in this Service Evaluation include New York University, Lehigh University, Bowdoin College, Cornell University, Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Vocareum Service Evaluation
Vocareum offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance AI and data science education.
Internet2 members are evaluating both the Vocareum AI Notebook and AI Gateway for inclusion in the NET+ Services portfolio. The AI Notebook provides a cloud-based, Jupyter-powered environment that gives immediate access to essential tools without requiring downloads or complex setups.
Vocareum’s AI Gateway solution also enables institutions to manage and control AI access within their academic environments, providing a streamlined approach to AI integration for teaching, research, and administrative purposes.
Participating institutions in this Service Evaluation include the University of Minnesota, the University of Delaware, Rice University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Brown University.
Grammarly for Education Service Evaluation
Grammarly offers AI-powered writing assistance that ensures clear, effective, and professional communication. The Grammarly enterprise offering provides advanced features, including:
- Centralized administration of writing tools across campus with detailed analytics
- Cost-efficient licensing, customizable style guides
- Seamless integration with existing academic systems
Internet2 members are evaluating Grammarly for Education to scale the service to an enterprise offering. Many institutions already benefit from Grammarly in various ways, and this evaluation presents an exciting opportunity to explore how the enterprise offering can be expanded campus-wide with enhanced security, unified administration, and cohesive pricing.
The evaluation includes a comprehensive review of Grammarly for Education’s enterprise capabilities, focusing on its applicability and benefits for higher education institutions. The aim is to ensure that the service meets the stringent technical, compliance, pricing, and operational requirements of Internet2 members.
Institutions involved in the Service Evaluation include Rutgers University, Rice University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, and Iowa State University.
Next Steps in the Evaluation Process
The Service Evaluation process follows our established NET+ methodology to ensure thorough vetting of each service:
- Technical Assessment: Evaluation of architecture, security, and integration capabilities based on community user experiences
- Compliance: Assessment of security and accessibility through HECVAT and VPAT reviews, with commitments to relevant laws and standards like FERPA, HIPAA, and WCAG.
- Contract Negotiation: Development of higher education terms and pricing
- Launch: Comprehensive documentation for portfolio inclusion
Stay tuned for updates on these evaluations and more announcements about the growing NET+ service ecosystem. For more information on how your institution can benefit from NET+ Services, visit our NET+ web page.
Get Involved: If you want to participate in NET+ Service Evaluations, please contact the NET+ team at netplus@internet2.edu.