The internet runs on physical infrastructure. We study it, teach it, and explain it.
The Global Digital Infrastructure Institute (GDII) is an independent, university-based network for education, research, and public engagement on data centers, subsea and terrestrial networks, and the energy and water they depend on. Anchored at UC Berkeley, built with universities worldwide.
Digital infrastructure is scaling faster than the research, education, and public understanding around it.
> $8 trillion
Projected cumulative investment in global digital infrastructure through 2030, spanning data centers, networks, and satellites.
Industry needs people
Companies are looking for the next generation of engineers, operators, planners, and policy specialists, and few programs prepare them.
~950 TWh
Projected electricity demand from data centers by the end of this decade, about 3% of global consumption.
The public needs answers
Governments and communities now depend on digital infrastructure and are asked to make decisions about it without trusted, accessible information.
Expertise is fragmented
Research sits in separate engineering, policy, business, and environmental departments, and no single institution brings it together.
Three Pillars
EDUCATION
Courses, fellowships, and pathways that teach students to design, operate, regulate, study, and govern digital infrastructure. Our core curriculum is open source for partner universities and colleges.
RESEARCH
Peer-reviewed, faculty-led research on energy, water, communities, workforce, policy, and resilience, including the Digital Infrastructure Living Lab at UC Berkeley.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Plain-language guides, policy briefs, community tools, and convenings that put credible information in front of the people making decisions. We do not lobby.
The GDI Living Lab
A working testbed on the UC Berkeley campus at Richmond Field Station where faculty and students run experiments in sustainable digital infrastructure: liquid-cooled AI racks, live digital twins, solar integration, and later heat reuse and agricultural connections.
We are building it with the Singapore Tropical Data Centre Testbed at the National University of Singapore, so findings can be checked in a very different climate.
Phase 1
Rack-scale liquid cooling and physical digital twins. Digital infrastructure and solar.
Phase 2
Heat reuse and agricultural connections. Green AI.
Study Digital Infrastructure at Berkeley
The GDI certificate program is the Institute’s first and proven offering: an interdisciplinary curriculum developed over five years, with more than 70 academic disciplines represented among enrolled students.
Three foundational courses
Digital Infrastructure 101
How to Build a Global Internet
TechWars: Security, Geopolitics, and Resilience
Latest News
What data center water use actually means for a watershed
Funded by: [funder]. Industry input: [none / list].
Founding network convening
[Date and Location].
Institute welcomes first university partners
[Date]
Industry Partners
Companies building the Institute with us.
Academic Partners
Universities partnering with us to build the Institute.
Contact Us
Interested in the program or have additional questions? Please check out our FAQ or contact us here. We can’t wait to hear from you!