Author: NCC Admin

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“Generative AI Intelligent Process Automation Platform” project on Leonardo HPC

Uhura Solutions is developing AI platform for document-driven process automation in financial services. The “Generative AI Intelligent Process Automation Platform – GAIPAP” project is a transformative initiative aimed at revolutionizing the financial industry through the integration of advanced AI-driven automation solutions that combine capabilities of Large Language Model (LLM), low-code development, and process automation workflows. This unique fusion of technologies holds the potential to significantly enhance operational efficiency, cost reduction, and customer experience within the financial sector.

An exceptional aspect of the platform is the incorporation of fine-tuned Large language models (LLMs), which sets it apart from generic AI solutions. These LLMs, refined for the financial industry’s unique language, context, and patterns, promise to deliver more precise and relevant insights. The platform’s value proposition is further strengthened by its ability to streamline workflows, offer scalability, real-time data insights, and elevate customer experiences. The integration of a low-code development framework and process automation workflows enables swift prototyping and deployment of AI-driven models, thereby accelerating time-to-market and capitalizing on market opportunities effectively.

The project involves the use of open-source Python libraries and pre-trained Large language models which are fine-tuned on a custom-made private dataset created by the team, allowing for specialized tasks within the financial sector. Leonardo supercomputer enabled us to make a leap with GPU training experiments from 1B to 7B and higher Large language models. We are focusing on various LLM research and optimization methods in this phase of the project, which include hyperparameter tuning, model quantization and pruning, and parameter efficient fine-tuning (PEFT). Special attention is put on dataset preprocessing including quality filtering, deduplication and privacy redacting.

This project, developed and managed by Uhura Solutions, was awarded with 4,500 node hours of GPU resources (8x64GB) on the Leonardo Buster HPC for a duration of 12 months.

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Industry workshop with ICT Cortex: “Supercomputing Opportunities for Industry Leaders”

NCC Montenegro is co-organizing industry-focused workshops and networking events to inspire innovative companies, SMEs and startups to learn how to improve their business processes and accelerate innovations with supercomputing HPC/AI opportunities. NCC experts provide HPC and AI technical expertise and infrastructure access, adjusted to the business environment and industry domains.

In cooperation with ICT Cortex (ICT Cluster for Information Technologies, Innovation, Education, Design and Technology Development in Montenegro)-gathering more than 40 founding members and 1800 IT experts, NCC Montenegro is organizing workshop “Supercomputing Opportunities for Industry Leaders” on 18th of Dec, to present HPC/AI systems and benefits, NCC services and activities, as well as EuroHPC infrastructure opportunities.

Montenegro’s ICT sector has been recognized as the catalyst for the development of an innovative economy and for strengthening the competitiveness and multiple industries. ICT industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Montenegro accumulating more than €600 in 2022 (vs €124mn in 2012), achieving almost 10% of GDP (vs 4% in 2012) and 21% of country’s total exports (vs 3% in 2017), according to ICT Cortex /CEED Consulting analyses.

We believe that this workshop will increase awareness on HPC&AI opportunities, provide valuable insights and inspirational use cases to the members and partners of ICT Cortex, enabling them to discover supercomputing power to enhance their innovative business and industry competitiveness.

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EUROCC2/EuroCC4SEE team visit to Čikom company

As part of the activities of connecting NCC Montenegro with industry and their greater engagement in the use of HPC resources in business, the EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE project team from the University of Montenegro (Prof. Dr. Božo Krstajić and Prof. Dr. Enis Kočan) visited Čikom, one of the largest IT companies in Montenegro, on December 13, 2024. Čikom was represented by Ivan Bošković, who is also the CEO of the subsidiary company IT Advanced Services (ITAS), Radovan Rutešić (IT designer), Anđela Bojović (software developer) and Đorđe Krstajić (implementer).

We presented the activites of NCC Montengro to Cikom and ITAS

At the meeting, the services and activities of NCC Montenegro within the EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE project were presented to the representatives of the Čikom company. Ongoing and planned projects within the Čikom company were discussed, in order to determine possible needs for the use of HPC resources. This opportunity was particularly interesting for ITAS, as they will need HPC resources to implement the project “AI System for Pathological Analysis of Adenocarcinoma (PathAI)”, which is funded by the Innovation Fund of Montenegro, and whose implementation is scheduled to begin in February 2025. The project aims to develop an advanced AI system for pathological analysis of adenocarcinoma. It is expected that this innovative system will significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of pathological analysis, thereby reducing the workload of pathologists and improving patient treatment outcomes. The project will require the processing of a large number of high-resolution medical images, for which the use of HPC resources will make their work much easier. It was agreed that after the start of the project, the NCC team will visit Čikom/ITAS again and present in detail the application process for HPC resources.

We scheduled another meeting to discuss applications for HPC resources
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EuroCC2 workshop “Establishing Business Relations between SMEs and Academia,”

As part of the EuroCC2 cross-NCC knowledge-sharing online events, which provide a platform for exchanging experiences on best practices, collaboration models, and impactful results, NCC Montenegro participated in the workshop “Establishing Business Relations between SMEs and Academia” on November 7th.

NCC Montenegro highlighted its outreach and onboarding activities for SMEs, featuring collaborations between academia and industry through: HPC/AI workshops and training events; development/research/innovation activities, and collaborative projects/grant schemes. A notable success story from the FinTech sector detailed how ML/HPC supported solutions addressed business challenges, including implementation steps and achieved benefits.

NCC Bulgaria emphasizes collaboration with various industry sectors and academia to foster partnerships with SMEs in addressing industry specific challenges through scientific research, training events, algorithm development, HPC solutions, and efficiency and scalability studies. Examples of successful HPC collaborations include improving precision in furniture design and analyzing advertising channel efficiency.

NCC Norway shared insights into Norway’s power market and collaboration with SINTEF Energy. By transitioning power models to HPC, they reduced simulation times from two hours to two minutes, enabling enhanced scenario testing and platform scalability.
This collaborative workshop demonstrated practical approaches across NCCs, emphasizing the shared goal of bridging the gap between academia and industry through HPC innovations.

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Cross-NCCs training event: “Machine Learning for Multiple Domains”

NCC Türkiye, NCC Serbia, NCC Montenegro, and NCC North Macedonia are pleased to announce a joint online training event titled “Machine Learning for Multiple Domains: From Concepts to Implementation,” scheduled for October 14-15, 2025, starting at 10:00 AM.

Participants can expect engaging program at both beginner and intermediate levels and will feature hands-on sessions along with key presentations spread across two days: Brief introductions on HPC/AI activities by 4 NCCs; Supercomputing access demo (TRUBA HPC infrastructure), presentations from NCC Macedonia (Design, Develop, Deploy, and Iterate on Production-Grade ML Applications) and NCC Turkey (Protein Language Models and Using Them for Downstream Prediction Tasks) on Day 1, and presentations from NCC Serbia (Modeling of Large-Scale Social Data) and NCC Montenegro (Analyzing Social Media Trends) on Day 2.

We look forward to your participation in this valuable opportunity to enhance your skills in HPC and machine learning!

More information on the training program, timetable and registration details you can find here: https://indico.truba.gov.tr/e/ML4MultipleDomains

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Collaborating for Smarter, Competitive and Sustainable Tourism

The dynamic of digital transformation, adoption of cutting-edge technologies and proliferation of innovative business models, provide Montenegro with strategic opportunities to elevate its tourism sector through data-driven and AI-powered solutions. NCC Montenegro is initiating collaboration with local municipalities and tourist organizations, on Tourism 4.0 project initiatives to optimize visitor experiences, provide smart destination management and promote sustainable tourism.

By leveraging next-generation technologies such as IoT, Computer Vision, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and High-Performance Computing, NCC Montenegro in cooperation with high-tech SME and local municipality, is preparing project initiative on real-time analytics and predictive insights related to tourism dynamic and trends to provide multiple benefits for public authorities, tourist organizations, cultural institutions and local businesses.

By embracing new technologies, advanced data analytics and intelligent modelling key tourism policymakers and stakeholders can achieve multiple benefits. These benefits include data-driven decision making, proactive management of tourist destinations/attractions, efficient resource allocation and capacity planning, better protection/valorization of cultural heritage/sites, increased visitors satisfaction and engagement, tailored offers and targeted marketing by local business, as well as “a-year-round” enhanced tourism strategies. Creating a scalable and collaborative platform for smart tourism management ultimately contributes to attractiveness and competitiveness of the Montenegro tourist destinations.

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The AI Conference on Building a National AI Strategy

The AI Conference, organized by the World Bank on September 24-25, 2024, in Budva, Montenegro, brought together global AI experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from both the public sector and academia to explore the integration of AI into national strategies/policies, government operations, and public services. Representatives from NCC Montenegro actively participated in the two-day workshops, engaging in discussions on AI opportunities, challenges, and practical use cases for public administration. They emphasize the importance of digital upskilling and AI expertise, the need for data repositories and open data policies, and the establishment of advanced computing infrastructure. NCC also elaborated on its activities and efforts in the development of a HPC/AI ecosystem in Montenegro.

Mr. Marash Dukaj, Minister of Public Administration, delivered a welcoming speech recognizing the necessity of AI and its potential to enhance public administration, economic development, and societal progress. He highlighted AI’s ability to enrich citizens’ lives through personalized services, enhanced resource management, business process optimization, and new innovation opportunities. The Ministry of Public Administration, in partnership with the World Bank through the BEST project, is set to develop a strategic roadmap for AI adoption in Montenegro.

Dr. Keegan McBride, lecturer in AI, Government, and Policy at the Oxford Internet Institute, outlined essential AI concepts for public sector implementation. Barbara Ubaldi, Head of the Digital Government and Data Unit at OECD, shared valuable insights from AI strategies in OECD countries, highlighting various public sector AI applications, and lessons learned. AI expert, Varun Hemachandran presented practical examples of AI in government contexts, while Divya Siddarth, Executive Director of the Collective Intelligence Project, stressed the critical role of stakeholder engagement in AI development.

Participants engaged in working groups and brainstorming sessions focused on envisioning a national AI strategy, creating building blocks for AI governance, and addressing potential challenges in administrative services, tax policies, and digital health. The conference provided a dynamic platform for discussing strategic, transparent, and responsible approaches to AI integration in the public sector, fostering valuable knowledge, insights and networking opportunities to advance Montenegro’s AI agenda.

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