By
Iain Oldman - Copywriter - Content Marketing, Internet2
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
3 Questions for Kyle Lewis, RDCT, and Pål Axelsson, Sunet
Next month, the global research and education (R&E) technical community will convene in Minneapolis, Minn., for the 2026 Internet2 Technology Exchange (TechEX26).
The mission? Solve current (and future) real-world challenges through the collective strength of the R&E community.
A committee of experienced and engaged R&E community members developed the TechEX26 program. Deep technical content is delivered via presentations, tutorials, workshops, working meetings, and other activities divided across four subject tracks: Advanced Networking, Cloud Technology, Identity and Access Management (IAM), and Information Security.
Leading up to TechEX26, held Oct. 26-30, Internet2 sat down with two of the committee members — Kyle Lewis and Pål Axelsson — who helped shape this year’s conference.
Kyle, vice president of cybersecurity strategy at RDCT, is a TechEX26 Program Committee chair and helped design and deliver the programming in the IAM track.
Pål is a federation operation manager at Sunet, the public national R&E network in Sweden. Additionally, Pål served as a TechEX26 Program Committee member for the IAM track.
We wanted to hear from Kyle and Pål about pressing IAM issues R&E institutions across the world are facing right now — and which sessions at TechEX26 address them head-on.
Continue reading to see why IAM teams everywhere should be at TechEX26.
Kyle Lewis, Vice President of Cybersecurity Strategy at RDCT
Pål Axelsson, Federation Operation Manager at Sunet
What is a difficult problem or pressure point you’re hearing about from peers across the R&E community right now, and how does the IAM track address it?
Kyle: Campuses are facing an intense trust crisis on two fronts:
- Automated fraud rings enrolling “ghost students” to siphon tuition assistance and financial aid
- Looming federal mandates — specifically the National Institutes of Health requirement enforcing the REFEDS Assurance Framework (RAF) IAP/high for access to Controlled Access Data Repositories
R&E institutions are caught between needing frictionless onboarding for diverse student populations and delivering robust identity assurance for clinical researchers without gridlocking central IT.
The IAM track addresses this head-on by addressing operationalizing RAF standards.
Pål: Among identity federation operators whose federations are part of eduGAIN, we have several traditional pain points. The most important ones concern attribute release to services and multi-factor login signaling.
In Europe, we’ve been working hard to develop new ways to log in via OpenID Federation, OIDC, and Identity Wallets.
At TechEX26, we get to discuss these topics with our international colleagues during sessions, at ACAMP, and in the hallways between presentations.
Featured Sessions:
- The Identity Problem You’re Already Having: Practical Strategies for Improving Higher Ed Identity Proofing | (Separate Registration Required) | Monday, Oct. 26
- Advance CAMP | Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30
Lead the Conversation at Advance CAMP 2026
Looking for more highly interactive programming? Don’t forget about the Advance CAMP unconference, with live agenda-building, tool demos, and focused peer discussion on the latest challenges and trends. Advance CAMP closes out TechEX26 on Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30.
Who is actually in the room in the IAM track, and how does that set TechEX apart from other conferences?
Kyle: The IAM rooms bring together a cross-functional mix rarely seen at corporate vendor events:
- Campus IAM architects
- CIOs and CISOs
- Research computing facilitators defending faculty data access
- Enrollment and financial aid technologists on the front lines of application fraud
- The actual authors of InCommon and REFEDS standards
- Industry collaborators (like InCommon Catalysts) that support R&E
Because TechEX co-locates identity alongside security, cloud, and networking tracks, you can collaborate directly with federation architects who write the trust specifications and peers testing identity-verification workflows in live production.
Pål: Traditionally, TechEX has been a collaborative conference for both U.S.-based and international attendees. TechEX26 is a very good place to have both specific and broader discussions on different identity topics with IAM professionals from all corners of the world.
Featured Sessions:
- Navigating the Labyrinth: Bridging the Gap Between Service Providers and Campus IAM | Tuesday, Oct. 27
- The Future of Academic Identity Federations – Gakunin and OpenID Foundation Japan’s Next Journey | Wednesday, Oct. 28
PLUS: Participate in the First-Ever Community Challenge
The Community Challenge on Wednesday, Oct. 28, is an interactive session debuting at TechEX26. Together, IAM practitioners and InCommon community members will tackle important questions about the state of identity in R&E and chart where the IAM community is headed. Come ready to think out loud, push ideas forward, and contribute to the future we’re building together.
What’s a session or topic in the IAM track this year that you think will surprise people, and what’s the conversation you’re most looking forward to having?
Kyle: The conversations I’m most looking forward to having are the unvarnished ACAMP unconference breakouts and hallway track debates, in particular, those about identity assurance, what the future brings for R&E federations and baseline expectations, and community responses to security events that affect the federation ecosystem.
Pål: I think the session on OpenID Federation and OIDC will both surprise and open minds to new federation technologies.
Featured Sessions:
- eduGAIN and InCommon Plans for OpenID Federation | Tuesday, Oct. 27
- Toward the Next Generation of Academic Identity Federations: Interoperability, Trust Frameworks, and Digital Sovereignty | Tuesday, Oct. 27
Lead the Conversation at TechEX26
TechEX26 is only weeks away. If you’re a member of the global R&E technical community, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to participate in and lead important discussions about the future of R&E IT.
Take a moment to explore the TechEX26 program. TechEX26 starts with interactive tutorials and workshops on Monday, Oct. 26.
New to TechEX?
Check out our first-timers’ guide to TechEX. The guide includes pre-conference resources, tips, and information about exclusive events for TechEX newcomers to help you connect and make the most of your experience.
ICYMI
About the Author(s)
Iain writes for the Internet2 Community Engagement team with a focus on digital content and strategic communications. He has a background in digital marketing and journalism, with his byline appearing in newswires, regional publications, and nonprofit news organizations.