The IETF Education and Outreach Directorate (eodir) strives to enhance the productivity of IETF work, expand the diversity and inclusiveness of the IETF, and enable the IETF to facilitate technical development and innovation in the Internet.
The eodir is made up of individuals actively working on projects related to the mission of the eodir. In support of its activities, eodir holds recurring open meetings. The eodir mailing list itself is open to any IETF participant. To join the mailing list submit a subscription request.
Directorate activities are structured around audiences, with specific activities tailored to per-audience requirements and desired outcomes. Current audiences are defined as:
Success is measured through activity-specific assessments, as well as overall assessment of how well IETF participation is regarded. Audiences and activities, as well as opportunities to contribute, are described in more detail below. Further activities related to outreach and measuring the effectiveness of eodir activities, will be discussed as eodir activities progress.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Karen O'Donoghue | eodir co-coordinator |
| Greg Wood | eodir co-coordinator |
| Dhruv Dhody | eodir co-coordinator |
| Roman Danyliw | Responsible Area Director & IETF Chair |
IETF newcomers have traditionally been defined by having participated in five or fewer meetings (online or in-person). eodir activities aim to support newcomers’ transition to effective, active, and enthusiastic IETF participants.
The IETF Newcomers’ Overview provides an introduction to getting started in the IETF. It includes a series of short videos with live Q&A sessions held ahead of IETF meetings. This overview provides pointers to additional information and resources useful for getting started in the IETF, and the Q&A sessions provide opportunities to ask about topics not covered in the videos. Contribute to the development of introductory materials by contacting Rich Salz via the eodir mailing list.
IETF Guides provide 1-1 matches between newcomers and experienced IETF participants, in particular during IETF meeting weeks. While the details of individual interactions are left to the 1-1 match, the IETF Guides program provides the framework for matching on the order of dozens of newcomers for each meeting week. This can be seen as a lightweight mentoring program for getting started in the IETF. If you would like to serve as a guide, or help coordinate the IETF Guides program, contact Wes Hardaker, Reese Enghardt, or Paul Wouters who lead the Guides program.
Newcomers' networking events provide opportunities around IETF meetings for newcomers to meet and interact with other newcomers and experienced IETF participants. There are several types of activities that fall into this category of activities, and we are constantly trying new activities. Examples of the types of events that may be organized include Newcomer Quick Connections, Newcomer Coffee Breaks, Newcomer Dinners, Newcomers Escape Rooms, and Newcomer Feedback Breakfasts. To provide ideas or to help organize these activities, please email the eodir mailing list.
eodir seeks to coordinate outreach activities for the IETF undertaken by individuals and organizations. We consolidate materials, share experiences, and document best practices. We are developing metrics to help understand which activities are most effective.
eodir outreach is directed towards potential IETF participants (network operators, enterprises, educational institutes, regions with less participation etc), but may also support outreach activities undertaken by others (such as the Internet Society) targeted to non-participants.
See more details at outreach.
Participants are defined as anyone who is subscribed to or posting to an IETF working group or Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) research group mailing list. eodir activities aim to provide participants with the knowledge and skills they need to be productive contributors.
For current IETF participants eodir organizes tutorials about technology being developed in the IETF (e.g. QUIC), general work being done by an area in the IETF (e.g. the Transport (tsv) Area), ), relevant technology being developed outside the IETF (e.g. IEEE), and processes or tools used in the IETF (such as tools for authoring Internet-Drafts). If you have an idea or suggestion for a tutorial, the eodir mailing list.
IETF leadership includes working group chairs, area directors, IRSG members, and others who play key roles in the IETF standards and RFC production process. eodir activities support IETF leadership in their work by fostering the development of non-technical skills key to success in their roles, coordinating the development of tutorials and documentation to help with leadership roles and tasks, and providing venues and channels for sharing information about IETF leadership.
For current WG and RG chairs, eodir organizes gatherings around IETF meetings to discuss a wide variety of topics of relevance to IETF Chairs. The goal here is to raise and discuss issues that do not fit into the regular course of running a WG, but are nonetheless important to effectiveness as a WG chair. If you have an idea for a topic to be discussed during a WG Chairs forum, contact Karen O’Donoghue or Rich Salz via the eodir mailing list.
Clear and concise guidance on tasks a working group chair needs to perform and the tools available to help them execute those tasks improves their effectiveness. This includes guidance on how to schedule interim meetings, on managing a working group mailing list, and checklists for preparing for sessions at IETF meetings. If you have suggestions about topics or tools to cover, contact eodir.
Eodir holds side meetings during the IETF week that are open to all. Additionally, it occasionally conducts interim online meetings. The notes from those meetings are -
In addition to the activities coordinated directly through eodir, eodir keeps track of and observes related efforts being led by other groups within the IETF community. This ensures coordination and may also inform future eodir activities.
Technology Deep Dives are organized from time-to-time by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) around IETF meetings to explore in detail specific areas of IETF-related technologies and their implementations and deployment. Topics of past sessions have included network interface cards (NICs) and the domain name system (DNS). For more information, contact the IESG by email:iesg@ietf.org.
The IETF Administration LLC has organized an initial round of online training geared to providing Working Group and Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) Research Group chairs with the skills needed to successfully navigate the leadership of a working group. While this has begun as an experiment, it may serve to inform further training organized through eodir. For more information, contact Greg Wood by email:ghwood@ietf.org.
Now concluded Education (EDU) Team used to organize tutorials, that can be found at DT.