National Competence Centre for High-Performance Computing
EuroCC NCC Montenegro website had over 10,000 visitors and over 25,000 visits during the last year. The number of visits was correlated with the organization of events, publishing od blog posts and announcements on social media. The overall stats since the website launch shows over 22,000 visitors and close to 60,000 visits. This is for the period from Jan 2021.
A resarch paper on forecasting meningitis with machine learning written by B. Dobardzic, A. Alibasic, N. Milosevic, B. Malisic and M. Vukotic just appeared in the Proceedings of the Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing (MEDICON) and International Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering (CMBEBIH), September 14–16, 2023, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina—Volume 1: Imaging, Engineering and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcareat the following link.
Abstract – Meningitis is a life-threatening disease that can lead to severe neurological damage and death if not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. In this study, the application of machine learning methods to create a predictive model for meningitis diagnosis based on clinical signs, blood, protein, and other health parameters is explored. Our goal is to determine the most reliable and accurate method of meningitis prediction. We analyze a sizable dataset of meningitis patients using cutting-edge classification techniques, such as Support Vector Machines and Random Forest. Findings have shown that machine learning techniques can accurately estimate a patient’s risk of meningitis. The importance of features for meningitis diagnosis is determined by evaluating them, and the
effectiveness of various models is also compared.
Another AI and S3 related project is granted for implementation at UDG. The AI-AGE project proposes the use of machine learning (ML) algorithms and evaluation of state-of-the-art AI tools to train and create prediction models to identify novel non-invasive biomarkers of aging, and increased risk for development of age-related conditions. The idea is to utilize a large dataset of annotated retinal images from the UK Biobank, to explore deep learning (DL) techniques, most commonly based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs), such as U-Net and Res-Net, and transformers, but also to expand the research on the use of ensemble methods that combine ML techniques to improve performance and accuracy.
This project is a result of sustainability efforts by NCC Montenegro team and collaboration betweeb Faculty for information systems at University of Donja Gorica and Faculty of medicine at University of Montenegro.
NCC Montenegro team wishes you Happy Holidays and all the best in New 2024 Year!
During the 3 months of intensive work, NCC Montenegro team members were involved in organising 70 classes for more then 50 participants. Lectures were held twice a week, starting in October this year. The training started with Python programming module which focused on mastering all programming skills needed for further work and engagement with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Then we explored AI concepts, mathematical models, computer vision tasks, and provided hands-on examples of using Convolutional Neural Networks, Yolo architectures (YoloV7 and YoloV8), and the Detectron2 package for various computer vision applications. Throughout these modules, participants not only gained exposure to various tools, Python packages and libraries for facilitating AI model development but also had the chance to learn the integration of AI solutions into modern systems and applications with Flask and other web bases technologies. The attendees were informed on NCC Montenegro activities and introduced to capabilites of HPC and its application for AI development that requires lots of computing resources.
After all classes we organised Hackathon day. The Hackathon gathered 20 teams to work on HPC/AI and Computer Vision projects in agriculture, medicine and tourism. Before the Hackathon Day, after which the best ideas were showcased and awarded, there were two weeks of intense mentor-guided sessions. These sessions helped teams with their projects and in figuring out high-performance computing needs for handling large datasets , execute experiments, and testing advanced AI models. This hackaton was implemented in cross-collaboration with the AI4S3 project funded by the Innnovation Fund of Montenegro.
On 8 Dec 2023, a workshop on “Digital Transformation and HPC/AI” unfolded at the University of Donja Gorica. Over the course of this semester, final-year BSc students from the Faculty for Information Systems and Technologies delved into research on HPC and AI technologies within the framework of the Managing Information Technology subject. The EUROCC NCC Montenegro team conducted enlightening lectures and presentations on HPC and AI, providing students with a comprehensive grasp of these technologies and illustrating their pivotal roles in digital transformation.
During the workshop, students had the opportunity to showcase the projects they worked on throughout the semester, projects that will be defended during their final exam in Managing Information Technology course. The presented use cases spanned across various fields such as tourism, medicine, agriculture, and digital marketing. This event not only allowed students to share their findings but also fostered a deeper understanding of the practical applications of HPC and AI in real-world scenarios. Our focus was on the possible applications of interest for Montenegro and in the priority domains of Smart Specialisation Strategy for Montenegro (2014-2019).
In the previous period, as part of the AI4S3 project, which is supported by Innovation fund of Montenegro, numerous lectures on the application of artificial intelligence in S3 areas were organized at the UDG:
With over 50 participants from various academic and industrial circles, our training has become a meeting place for different perspectives and innovations. By the end of this training, two more modules are planned, namely The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Computer Vision and Tools and Libraries for AI Model Development. At the very end, training participants will present their projects, which they will develop in teams in cooperation with mentors. This training is a continuation of previous NCC Montenegro and Open Mind Academy efforts.
