On Friday, September 27, UDG welcomed Divya Siddarth, one of the 100 most influential young people in the field of artificial intelligence, as chosen by TIME magazine! Divya is a researcher at Microsoft Research, in the Political Economy and Social Technologies (PEST) department, and co-founder of the Collective Intelligence Project. Her work focuses on using technology to create fairer societies, with a particular emphasis on decentralized technologies, artificial intelligence and digital democracy. She was recently recognized as one of the key minds shaping the future of artificial intelligence in the service of the common good! The audience included students, researchers and industry representatives.
Ms Divya Siddarth is one of the 100 most influential young people in the field of artificial intelligenceIt was a pleasure to be a part of this discussion. There was over 200 people in the audienceMs Siddarth is a researcher at Microsoft Research and co-founder of the Collective Intelligence Project
At the Revolutionising Agriculture with HPC and AI: Real-World Applications conference, the project, AIMHiGH, was presented, with DigitalSmart as the coordinator. The project, implemented as part of the HPC Fortissimo initiative and funded through the Horizon 2020 FF4EuroHPC program, was titled AI/ML Enabled by HPC for Edge Camera Devices for the Next Generation Hen Farms. Stevan Cakic presented experience with the AIMHiGH project that introduced cutting-edge HPC and AI/ML technologies that significantly impacted the poultry farming sector. One of the key achievements of the project was enabling real-time monitoring and data-driven insights. Farmers gained access to continuous, real-time surveillance of their poultry through edge cameras equipped with AI models. These models could analyze live footage to identify early signs of illness, stress, or abnormal behavior, allowing immediate intervention. This innovation improved animal welfare, minimized losses, and enhanced overall productivity on the farms.
In addition, the project provided an advanced solution for disease detection and prevention. The AI models developed during the project were capable of detecting subtle signs of illness long before they became visible to the human eye. This early detection allowed for more effective prevention and control, reducing the spread of diseases and ultimately leading to lower usage of antibiotics, which had a positive impact on both costs and animal health. Moreover, the project’s technological solutions helped optimize resource usage, particularly in terms of feed and water management. With real-time behavioral and health data from the birds, farmers could adjust feeding schedules and amounts according to actual needs, reducing waste and cutting down on unnecessary resource consumption. This not only reduced environmental impact but also contributed to more efficient and sustainable production practices.
Presenting HPC and deep learning appraoch
The project’s approach to automating monitoring and decision-making processes also had a transformative effect on production efficiency. By reducing the need for manual supervision, the system allowed farm workers to focus on more critical tasks, leading to higher production outputs while maintaining lower operational costs. A further advantage was the scalability and flexibility of the technology. The use of edge devices allowed these AI models to be easily deployed in various farm setups without requiring expensive infrastructure. This made the technology accessible to both large-scale operations and smaller farms, ensuring that the benefits of AI and HPC could reach a broader segment of the poultry farming industry. Throughout the project, collaboration with key partners played a crucial role. DunavNET contributed its expertise in AI, machine learning, IoT, and software development, while The University of Donja Gorica brought significant HPC expertise through NCC Montenegro and the FoodHub Centre of Excellence. Montenegrin companies Meso-promet Franca and Radinović Company participated actively in the evaluation and piloting phases of the project, ensuring the practical relevance and success of the solutions developed. Overall, the AIMHiGH project was fully aligned with the priorities of Montenegro’s S3 Smart Specialisation Strategy, making significant contributions to technological innovation in the poultry sector, while strengthening the local economy and supporting more sustainable farming practices.
Discussing experiment results and prospects for future work
Welcome to “Supercomputing in Europe” podcast from the EuroCC and Centre of Excellence network where we will talk about all things supercomputers.
Listen to stories by guests from all around Europe who talk about their work and give us interesting insights on the role of supercomputers in multiple fields such as life science, machine learning, engineering, data science, quantum computing, and more.
In the first episode, listen to EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) executive director Anders Dam Jensen discuss with communication specialist Apostolos Vasileiadis (ENCCS, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden) about EuroHPC JU and the state of supercomputing in Europe and its future.
In the second episode listen to Marta García-Gasulla and Filippo Mantovani from Barcelona Supercomputing Center discuss with Sally Kiebdaj (Center of Excellence in Exascale CFD, HLRS – High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart) about the European Processor Initiative and CEEC CoE.
Would you like to explore the transformative power of HPC and Artificial Intelligence in agriculture and learn about real-case application?
Join the webinar “Revolutionising Agriculture with HPC and AI: Real-World Applications on Tuesday, 24 September, 14:00-15:00 CET.
More info & registration ▶ https://www.sling.si/en/news/ncc-sling-webinar-revolutionising-agriculture-with-hpc-and-ai-real-world-applications/
HPC4S3ME team members will participate in the webinar and also present their experiences in developing computer vision solutions for precision farming.
As a part of the orientation week for new students, the EuroCC National Competence Centre Montenegro has organized a Supercomputing Workshop aimed at introducing incoming university students to the exciting world of high-performance computing (HPC).
The workshop featured interactive sessions where students could get insights into cutting-edge technologies used in supercomputing, such as parallel processing, intelligent algorithms, and data analytics. Experts from the NCC guided the participants through the technical fundamentals of HPC systems, demonstrated real-world applications related to Big Data processing and advanced AI modelling, but also provided examples of academic study cases and industry use cases, including Montenegro’s success stories.
The aim of the workshop was also to provide brief overview on HPC/AI related academic programs, training portfolio and NCC activities, to show how students can leverage supercomputing resources for academic projects and scientific research, or even for startup ideas and potential industry collaboration.
By exposing new students to the potential of supercomputing early in their academic journey, the NCC aims to support students’ development in high-demand, tech-driven carriers, and to foster community of innovative thinkers prepared to tackle complex and critical challenges of the modern world.
The University of Donja Gorica, with the support of the Innovation Fund of Montenegro, as part of the program for the organization of education in the areas of smart specialization of Montenegro, organizes a three-month training called “AIFUSION – Artificial intelligence in agriculture, medicine and energy.” The course will be held in the period from the end of September (September 21) to the end of December (December 21) 2024.
The education program is divided into 5 modules: Introduction to artificial intelligence, Computer vision, Natural language processing, Artificial intelligence and S3 in practice and Ethics and responsible use of artificial intelligence and work on the final project.
Apart from the fact that the 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.
To apply, you need to fill out the Google form found at the link https://forms.gle/f8Pc8ozu9U3tHKY98. Applications last until September 20 (11:59 p.m.), and the course is scheduled to start on September 21.
29th International Information Technology Conference IT 2025 will be held from February 19th until February 22nd in Žabljak. The Conference shall host lectures and round table discussions about development trends in the field of information and communication technologies, as well as actual problems in this field in Montenegro.
In agreement with the conference’s Organizing Committee, interested institutions are invited to organize presentations of their scientific, research, professional, development, and production projects and achievements.
Papers submitted for presentation at the Conference shall be reviewed and selected based on the full paper. Papers should be written according to the instructions you can download here: Instructions.doc. Accepted papers will be submitted for inclusion into IEEE Xplore subject to meeting IEEE Xplore’s scope and quality requirements.
University of Montenegro and University of Donja Gorica, EUROCC2 partners and NCC Montenegro constituents , are both supporting the conference. HPC and AI are expected to be topics discussed in scientific presentations, paper sessions, panels and round tables. Mark your calenders and check out the IT 2025 website for more info.
