Summary: Researchers in different locations can now work online together and collaborate with access to all kinds of resources, through what is known as a virtual research environment (VRE). Last week, in the spirit of international co-operation, a workshop on VRE's was run by the Knowledge Exchange, a partnership of four national organisations for technology in higher education which includes Jisc from the UK alongside ICT bodies from Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Delegates from around the world attended the Rotterdam workshop to gain an overview of the current state of affairs for VRE's, draw conclusions from the firsthand experience of the delegates, and share ideas for future cooperation on practical as well as strategic levels. We asked some delegates what their backgrounds were in the area of VRE's, what they were looking forward to learning and what they had already learnt from the workshop.
