Industry collaboration Archives

15.02.2025.15.02.2025.

Young Researchers Gearing Up for IT 2025: Advancing HPC and AI Through EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE

The 29th International Information Technology Conference (IT 2025) is just around the corner, taking place from February 19–22, 2025, in Žabljak, Montenegro. As one of the region’s most prominent IT gatherings, the event will bring together researchers, industry leaders, and academic experts to discuss the latest trends in HPC, AI and Digital Transformation.

As IT 2025 approaches, our team is gearing up to make an impact

This year, a team of young researchers from our institution is not only participating but also actively implementing activities related to the EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE project, which focuses on strengthening national competence centers in HPC across Europe. Their engagement will be crucial in two major sessions at the conference:

HPC for Research Innovation – Unlocking Potential and Overcoming Challenges
📅 Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 11:30 – 13:00
📍 IT 2025 Conference, Žabljak

The young researchers will contribute to this strategic session, focusing on:
✅ Exploring Innovation Potential – Investigating how HPC can drive new research opportunities.
✅ Technical Feasibility & Migration Strategies – Addressing the challenges of integrating HPC solutions.
✅ Capacity Building & Skills Development – Supporting the next generation of HPC professionals.
✅ Paper Presentations – Showcasing research advancements and practical applications of HPC in various domains.

Their involvement will ensure that cutting-edge research and technical expertise are shared with the broader community, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration.

HPC & AI Roundtable – Expert Guidance and Collaborative Research Dialogues
📅 Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 13:15 – 14:45
📍 IT 2025 Conference, Žabljak

In this interactive roundtable, the young researchers will engage in:
🤝 Expert Consultation & Research Challenges – Discussing real-world AI & HPC implementation hurdles.
🔗 Collaboration Matchmaking – Connecting researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers.
🏢 Industry & Academia Synergy – Exploring how HPC and AI can bridge gaps between research and industry needs.

Their role in this discussion will be pivotal in shaping future research directions and establishing stronger ties between academia and industry. More info about the conference is available at [link].

10.02.2025.10.02.2025.

EUROCC2 & EUROCC4SEE at IT2025 – Advancing HPC Collaboration in the Region

At the IEEE IT2025 Conference in Žabljak, EUROCC2 and EUROCC4SEE will play a key role in fostering high-performance computing (HPC) adoption through strategic discussions, expert panels, and networking opportunities. 🚀

On 19 Feb, a Project Trade Fair will showcase results from EUROCC2/EuroCC4SEE and other initiatives, highlighting their impact on digital transformation and regional collaboration.
On 20 Feb, the “HPC for Research Innovation” session will explore technical feasibility, capacity building, and AI integration. This will be followed by an HPC & AI Roundtable, where experts will discuss research challenges and collaboration opportunities between industry and academia.
On 21 Feb, a Strategy Meeting will focus on strengthening regional NCC collaboration, harmonizing training programs, and ensuring the sustainability of HPC initiatives.

With a strong lineup of discussions and expert engagement, these sessions will drive innovation, knowledge exchange, and future collaboration in the European HPC ecosystem. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this transformative event! 🔥💡

26.12.2024.26.12.2024.

NCC Montenegro and ICT Cortex -Unlocking supercomputing opportunities for industry leaders

On December 18, 2024, the NCC Montenegro in collaboration with ICT Cortex, successfully organized an industry-focused workshop “Supercomputing Opportunities for Industry Leaders”. ICT Cortex as a prominent Montenegrin business association, dedicated to fostering ICT companies collaboration and advancing of IT sector and startup ecosystem in Montenegro, making a fitting partner for HPC/AI industry roadshow initiative conducted within the scope of EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE project.

The workshop introduced participants to the comprehensive training and service portfolio offered by NCC MNE, while emphasizing the real-world benefits and examples of adopting HPC+ technologies. Key highlights of the workshop:

Demonstrating how HPC improves efficiency and accelerates innovation across various industry sectors and applications.
Showcasing real-world HPC and AI success stories driving significant business benefits.
Explaining how HPC4SME Assessment Tool can support Montenegrin SMEs in evaluating their readiness and potential for HPC/AI adoption.
Providing insights into EuroHPC Access Calls process and how innovative companies can leverage subsidized supercomputers access to address their computational needs and challenges.

The workshop attracted industry representatives and domain experts, expressing their keen interest in exploring supercomputing access possibilities and utilizing HPC-powered AI models to leverage their business R&D&I needs.

This initiative underscores NCC MNE’s commitment to bridging the gap between advanced computational technologies and industry needs, fostering a culture of innovation and digital competitiveness in Montenegro’s business ecosystem. By collaborating with organizations like ICT Cortex, NCC MNE continues to create valuable opportunities for knowledge sharing and technology transfer, strategic partnerships and industry onboarding.

24.12.2024.12.01.2025.

Industry Outreach: Exploring HPC Opportunities to Accelerate Innovations across Healthcare, Education and IT

NCC Montenegro is driving forward its mission to foster innovation by leveraging HPC-empowered AI development through strategic collaborations with local companies and startups.

NCC Montenegro conducted initiated consultations with Five Group, one of Montenegro’s leading IT companies specializing in 3D design, gaming, and AI-based systems and discussed HPC resources to boost productivity and support their advanced AI applications. Two potential projects were identified, and pathways for applying to EuroHPC resources were explored. Five Group’s collaboration with the University of Montenegro (UCG) further underscores its dedication to advancing education through appealing innovative solutions

NCC members visited Čikom company, one of the largest IT companies in Montenegro, to explore HPC support for the project related to the AI System for Pathological Analysis of Adenocarcinoma. NCC Montenegro will provide expert guidance on optimizing computational models to accelerate the project outcomes.

Developed by ONE AI startup and supported by the Innovation Fund, AIHeal project integrates sensor technologies and mobile devices to monitor patient health in real-time. The system enables precise diagnostics, reduces costs, and optimizes health conditions monitoring. Through NCC Montenegro’s support, HPC resources will be explored to enhance AIHeal’s data processing capabilities, ensuring efficient and reliable performance.

With a shared vision for innovation push and technological excellence, these collaborations showcase the potential of HPC and AI in driving advancements that promise to elevate healthcare, education, and industry standards.

23.12.2024.23.12.2024.

“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.

16.12.2024.17.12.2024.

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.

25.10.2024.27.10.2024.

Lecture by prof Kezunovic from Texas A&M on AI/HPC supported risk management in energy sector

As planned, the invited lecture “Risk Management of Future Large-Scale Electrification” by prof. Mladen Kezunovic took place on 25 October 2024 in Enterpreneurial nest at UDG. Threre was over 60 attendees including students, academics from Montenegrin universities and representatives from the industry. This workshop was organized in the context of HPC4S3ME project and supported by EUROCC NCC Montenegro team.

What are the risks? Methodology for risk management and mitigation? What data do we have and how do we manage all that data? How can AI/ML supported by HPC help?

Dr. Mladen Kezunovic is a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M with over 35 years of expertise in power engineering. Renowned globally, Dr. Kezunovic has authored over 600 papers and consulted for 50+ companies worldwide. His extensive research and industry contributions, notably in fault modeling, data analytics, and smart grids, have earned him IEEE Life Fellow status and recognition from the US National Academy of Engineering.