June 2023 - EuroCC Montenegro

30.06.2023.03.07.2023.

Digital Europe Programme opens to Montengro

Today, the Commission signed association agreements for the Digital Europe Programme with Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia, on the margins of the Regulatory Dialogue with the Western Balkans. Following the signatures, and upon the completion of the related ratification processes, the association agreements will enter into force. Businesses, public administrations and other eligible organisations in these neighbouring countries will be able to access the calls of the Digital Europe Programme, which has an overall budget of €7.5 billion in the 2021-2027 period.

In particular, participants from these four countries will be able to take part in projects that deploy digital technologies across the EU in specific areas such as artificial intelligence, and advanced digital skills. They will also be able to set up Digital Innovation Hubs in their own regions. This will bring them closer to the EU economy and society, benefit their technology capabilities and support digitalisation overall, notably of small and medium-sized businesses. (Source: European Commission – link)

Digital Europe Programme opens to Montenegro and EuroCC2

28.06.2023.30.06.2023.

Meeting with representatives of Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Montenegro

The representatives of Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics from University of Montenegro were welcomed by the experts and researchers at HPC NCC Montenegro, who presented EuroCC2 project, NCC Montenegro activities and available supercomputing infrastructure and services. The HPC NCC team highlighted the NCC’s commitment to facilitating collaborations between academia and industry, through shared HPC resources, expertise and experience.

The representatives of Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics were particularly interested in understanding how the supercomputing resources at HPC NCC could be leveraged for ML models and public sector applications, as well as to address complex research challenges and interdisciplinary collaboration. The NCC team also emphasized HPC/AI workshops and cross-NCCs trainings sessions to enhance the computational capabilities of researchers and familiarize them with HPC infrastructure and software tools and techniques.

The collaboration between these institutions has the potential to improve scientific research and accelerate advancements in various public fields.

27.06.2023.03.07.2023.

Master thesis: Computer vision and AI in medicine

Mr Dejan Babic, a young researcher from UDG, just defended his Master thesis on the use of computer vision and artificial intelligence in medicine. This is a great example of using ICT for vertical priority domains of Monteengrin S3. This research was supported in part by HPC4S3ME project and EUROCC. Mr Babic intends to continue his research in this domain and to enroll PhD program at the UDG. Mr Babic explored the use of different tools for ML and he also experimened with the use of HPC for training prediction models that can be used in medicine. He was one of the first MSc theses defended from the Artificial Intelligence Master program created under the EuroCC project.

ABSTRACT – Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way we live, work, and communicate with the world. The proliferation of data has been the biggest driver of AI in recent years. AI in medicine is rapidly developing and holds great potential in revolutionizing healthcare systems. Its application is already producing promising results in disease detection, diagnosis and drug discovery. AI is widely used in medical facilities worldwide as a decision support tool for patient diagnosis. It is expected to bring significant benefits to healthcare sector. In this thesis, the focus is on the application of artificial intelligence and computer vision in solving real medical problems. The research is both theoretical and empirical and focuses on the application of artificial intelligence and computer vision in the detection of pneumonia, segmentation of blood vessels in the retina, and estimation of cardiovascular risk. The main goal of the research is to achieve the highest possible accuracy in specific cases and approaches, in order for these approaches to be considered applicable in medicine. Throughout the study, some of the ethical issues related to the use of this technology were also raised. At the end of the study, the results, potential challenges, and future directions of this research were discussed.

Computer vision and artificial intelligence in medicine

Segmentation of blood vessels in images of retina

27.06.2023.03.07.2023.

Master thesis: The use of Artificial Intelligence on Edge

Mr Ivan Jovovic, a young researcher from UDG, just defended his Master thesis on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learining on edge devices. This research was supported in part by HPC4S3ME project and EUROCC. Mr Jovovic intends to continue his research in this domain and to enroll PhD program at the UDG. Mr Jovovic explored the use of different tools for ML and he also experimened with the use of HPC for training prediction models that can be ported onto edge devices. He was one of the first MSc theses defended from the Artificial Intelligence Master program created under EuroCC project.

ABSTRACT – This thesis explores the combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and edge computing in modern applications, with a special focus on medicine and agriculture. The paper first introduces the reader to the basic terms and definitions of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, the Internet of Things and Edge computing. After the theoretical basis, the work provides an insight into the practical applications of these technologies in medicine and agriculture, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of their applications. In the following, the paper offers a detailed study of practical examples of edge artificial intelligence in agriculture and healthcare, as well as artificial intelligence in the field of medicine, with focus on disease classification. Through the realization and implementation of these projects, the interpretation of the results and the discussion, the paper emphasizes the importance of the integration of artificial intelligence and edge computing in various industries.

Master thesis: The use of Artificial Intelligence on Edge (Edge AI)

26.06.2023.30.06.2023.

Collaborative initiatives between NCC Romania and Montenegro

Representatives of NCC Romania and NCC Montenegro organized an initial meeting to discuss future collaboration activities based on mutual interest in improving HPC NCCs’ best practices, training capacities, and industry/public outreach.

The initially discussed plans include the organization of joint training courses for academia professors and students to exchange and enhance HPC/AI study programs, the preparation of a joint training event for industry representatives covering HPC+ industry and commercial benefits and technical upskilling, as well as the facilitation of twinning activities to strengthen NCCs’ expertise and capacities in facing EuroCC2 project activities and challenges.

Both NCCs demonstrate enthusiasm and commitment to foster fruitful cooperation and knowledge/experience sharing in the field of HPC/HPDA/AI technologies related to academic excellence and industry digitalization.

15.06.2023.16.06.2023.

NCC Montenegro participated at “Central European NCCs Workgroup Meeting”

Representatives of NCC Montenegro participated (online) in the “Central European NCCs Workgroup Meeting” organized within the scope of ASHPC23 – Austrian-Slovenian HPC Meeting 2023 (June 13–15, 2023) at the Institute of Information Science in Maribor (IZUM), to actively discuss, exchange experiences and follow up-to-date EuroCC2 and NCCs’ initiatives. Agenda of the NCCs’ meeting covered topics:

NCCs industry’ approach (SMEs engagement, service portfolio, infrastructure access, expected outcomes etc.),

EuroCC2 training activities (training formats, joint training events, regional collaboration, collaboration with CoEs and EDIHs, targeting SME audience etc.)

NCCs communication and disseminations tools (networking events organization, effective communication channels, choosing subjects & speakers, attracting industry stakeholders etc.)

NCC Austria presented their SMEs/Start-ups boosting initiative “EuroCC Supercomputing accelerator” and training initiative on webinar series assuming NCCs and CoEs shared contribution and collaboration. NCC Slovenia presented “SLING Open Doors Days”, their success story on successfully organized community and networking event.

10.06.2023.04.07.2023.

IT2023 and EuroCC2 featured in IEEE Region 8 News

Thanks to EuroCC2 team from Montenegro, EuroCC and 27th International Scientific and Professional Conference – Information technology IT2023 were featured in the June issue of IEEE Region 8 News magazine (Vol 4 No 2). You can access the full issue at the following link. The News bulletin is published quartterly and distributed to over 80000 IEEE members in Region 8.