Meeting with colleagues from FON UoB

Researchers from University of Donja Gorica (UDG) and NCC Montenegro visited partners from Faculty of organizational sciences University of Belgrade (FON UoB) during their summer school at Perast. Colleagues from FON presented their exhibition of AI generated images titled “Imagine Boka” and their activities about startups and marketing.

We presented the most interesting activities on UDG along with activities on NCC Montenegro and the EuroCC project. We spoke about possibilities of future collaboration on educational programs, training courses, digital transformation topics, AI and similar subjects.

AI4S3 – Application of computer vision and deep learning in agriculture and food production, medicine and energy

NCC Montenegro team members and the Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies (UDG), with the support of the Innovation Fund of Montenegro as part of the program to encourage the development of innovation culture and the organization of education in the areas of expertise in Montenegro, organizes a three-month training called “AI4S3 – Application of computer vision and deep learning in agriculture and food production, medicine and energy” which will be held in the period from the beginning of October to the end of December 2023.

AI4S3 – Computer vision applications in S3

The purpose of education is to provide young people with high-quality education in order to acquire the relevant knowledge and skills needed for a successful career, but also to, above all, interest participants in the field of artificial intelligence and to become participants in the digital transformation of Montenegro. The education program is divided into 5 modules: Python Programming, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision, Python Libraries and Tools for Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence in S3 Areas, and final project work. In addition to the fact that participants will acquire enough knowledge and skills needed for further research in this very current field, they will have the opportunity to expand their network of acquaintances and meet young people with similar interests. The program and agenda (in Montenegrin) is available here.

Registration is open until Sep 28th ath the following link.

The organization of this 3-month training is supported by the Innovation fund of Montenegro

EuroHPC JU Information Day for AI on Supercomputers

EuroHPC JU organizes a virtual event “Information Day on AI and Supercomputers. This three-hours virtual event will take place on September 26th, 9:30 – 12:30 CEST. The virtual event will discuss:

  • how EuroHPC JU supercomputers can be used for AI applications,
  • the access possibilities to these supercomputers,
  • the current and upcoming AI related calls and activities,
  • the support possibilities of EuroCC national competence centres
  • examples of numerous success stories that used many of the possibilities provided by EuroHPC JU.

Interested participants can register to the event at the following link.

EuroHPC JU organizes a virtual Information Day on AI and Supercomputers on Sep 26th

EuroHPC JU is a joint initiative between the EU, European countries and private partners to develop a World Class Supercomputing Ecosystem in Europe. It is jointly funded by its members with a budget of around EUR 7 billion. At the moment EuroHPC JU is operating six of the biggest and fastest supercomputers in Europe and globally, equipped with different types of GPUs and CPUs as well as other types of processors for users to use. Whether these are situated in your own country or in neighbouring countries you can access them for free.

AI4S3 – educational project proposal approved

The Innovation Fund of Montenegro (the Fund) publishes the list of projects approved for financing within the framework of the Public Call for encouraging the development of innovation culture and the organization of education in the areas of smart specialization. The fund allocated funds in the total amount of 130,000 euros for financing projects within two program lines according to this Public Call. The public call for the mentioned program lines was open from May 8 to June 15, 2023.

The Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies, University of Donja Gorica, proposed the educational project “Application of computer vision and deep learning in agriculture and food production, medicine and energy (AI4S3)” which was highly evaluated and approved for funding. This project focuses on training participants for the application of AI in the priority domains of the Smart Specialization Strategy of Montenegro (S3 Montenegro). This project is continuation of UDG and NCC Montenegro efforts to offer best education and training for HPC, AI and IT in general to Montenegrin stakeholders. The training will take place from October to December 2023.

Education in domains of S3 Montengro by the Innovation Fund of Montenegro

24 projects were submitted to the public call for the program line to encourage the development of innovative culture, of which 21 projects were sent for evaluation, while 35 projects were registered for the program line for the organization of education in the areas of smart specialization in Montenegro, of which 32 projects were sent for evaluation conducted by the Fund’s expert committee, in accordance with the Rulebook on the evaluation process. More info available at the following link.

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

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)

EuroCC2 gearing up – Meeting with CoE BioExcel

Representatives of NCC Montenegro and NCC Macedonia had a joint introductory meeting organized by – Centre of Excellence for Computational Biomolecular Research from Sweden, on 18th of May 2023. BioExcel has been developing/using state-of-computational and software tools and modelling techniques since 2015, to address some of the biggest scientific challenges in the area of bimolecular research.

Research in the BioExcel focuses on structural and functional studies of the main building blocks of living organisms – proteins, DNA, membranes, solvents and small molecules such as drug components. BioExcel CoE’s activities support researcher work in core disciplines in the computational sciences such as: Integrative structural biology, Biomarkers design, Nanotechnology and materials science, Personalized medicine, Physiology, Neuroinformatics, Multi-scale QM/MM modelling.

BioExcel Ambassadors’ Program was also presented, as an attractive opportunity for the NCCs and local academic or government institutions, working in the field of computational bimolecular modelling and simulations and duly interested in collaborative research, trainings and outreach activities.

In the scope of elaborated CoE-NCC cooperation and joint efforts on HPC use in the respective domains, NCC Montenegro shortly presented its current activities and potentially interested partners in the area of bimolecular research. BioExcel emphasized its widely acknowledged software tools and training events, including its upcoming, annual flagship BioExcel Summer School (September 2023, Sardinia, Italy), which provides a comprehensive combination of lectures and tutorial sessions on bimolecular modelling and simulations, using modern applications and tools including GROMACS, HADDOCK, PMX. Registration and information: https://bioexcel.eu/events/bioexcel-summer-school-on-biomolecular-simulations-2023/