IHMS precise weather forecast at VEGA HPC system

NCC Montenegro successfully submitted the proposal No. EHPC-BEN-2023B12-015 High-Resolution Weather Prediction Model for Montenegro, to the EuroHPC Benchmark Access Call, in cooperation with Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro (IHMS) on VEGA CPU for the period 15.01.-15.04.2024. The project aimed to leverage the EuroHPC resources to establish and benchmark precise weather forecast models in the complex topography of Montenegro, utilize these models to refine existing meteorological models, and ultimately enhance the accuracy of weather forecasts, particularly for severe weather events.

Simulations used the Weather Research and Forecasting Non-Hydrostatic Mesoscale Model (WRF-NMM) combining advanced numerical techniques with HPC, for studying atmospheric phenomena with high spatial and temporal resolution and providing accurate and efficient simulations of regional weather patterns. Key activities included installing and fine-tuning the model based on previous verification results, preparing input data, running and fine-tuning the model, and analyzing results in the context of weather prediction and parallel computing performance. WRF model is tested on complex Montenegrin terrain on resolutions 0.5km, 1km, 3km, and 5km. Application scalability was tested on up to 8 nodes, running up to 1024 tasks simultaneously. Simulations were executed for different timespans, but results/overall execution time was scaled to one day period to calculate application speedup and efficiency.

Vega HPC has significantly enhanced research capabilities, allowing to achieve results more quickly and with greater accuracy: scalability was successfully tested on 64-512 CPU cores and the model was successfully downscaled to the resolution of 0.5 km. The final report on granted EUROHPC JU Benchmark Access and effective utilization of the VEGA CPU system assigned is submitted.

Advancing Automated Trading: PAID-T simulations at LUMI supercomputer

PAID-T (Price Action Intelligent Detection Trading) is a scalable software solution for investment funds, banks, brokers and digital banks that automatically analyzes markets, executes trades and optimizes trading. The basis of the solution is the awareness of the context when the most potent moment for trading is, the ability to quickly adapt to new market conditions, as well as rigorous rules for risk management.

PAID-T uses mathematical models for statistical data processing (big data), instrument price detection algorithms, machine learning, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to create a unique trading experience.

Using the Lumi supercomputer will help us significantly speed up historical testing. Before using Lumi resources, our tests took an average of 6 days. We now expect to be able to complete testing between 5 and 12 hours depending on the number of parameters used.

The PAID-T has been supported by NCC Montenegro providing technical consultation, HPC systems expertise, and support regarding the application process for EuroHPC Development Call on LUMI (CPU partition). HPC infrastructure access was approved and provided for 12 months.

NCC Montenegro shared its HPC academic-related experience at the Romanian event “HPC MasterClass”

Representative of NCC Montenegro Ms. Sanja Nikolic participated in the HPC Masterclass, a hybrid event held at “Ovidius” University of Constanța (20-24.05.2024) co-organized by NCC Romania. The second day of the training event was dedicated to NCC’s shared experience on HPC academic utilization and research excellence, introducing presenters from NCC Portugal, Montenegro, Bulgaria, France, and Luxembourg. Ms. Nikolic presented the development of the HPC+ (HPC and related technologies) educational ecosystem in Montenegro, intensively driven by the EuroCC project, NCC Montenegro and the University of Donja Gorica.

NCC Montenegro is focused on developing HPC/HPDA/AI academic programs, study courses, and training portfolios, following a sustained learning pathway:

HPC/AI-related seasonal schools to mobilize high-school students and high-tech enthusiasts to enroll in HPC/AI-related academic programs. (“Open Mind Academy”).
BSc restructured program (M1-Software Development and M2-Digital Transformation), and first nationally accredited AI Master Program, at Faculty for Information Systems and Technologies.
Professional training courses, workshops, and networking events for academia and industry participants providing in-demand HPC/AI knowledge, technical upskilling, and supercomputing hands-on sessions.

NCC Montenegro’s training portfolio covers technology-specific know-how (HPC system architecture and applications, Parallel Programming, Python Programming, Deep Learning, Edge IoT, Computer Vision, NLL) and industry-specific priority domains, defined by the Smart Specialization Strategy of Montenegro (energy, health, tourism, agriculture, ICT).

NCC Montenegro is also fully exploiting joint training opportunities within the pan-European NCC network – to capitalize on their HPC expertise and resources, as well as productive collaboration with key MNE stakeholders (business associations, technical affiliations, and funding institutions) – to enhance national HPC/AI awareness, outreach and uptake.

Nvidia AI for Science Bootcamp

The AI for Scientific Computing Bootcamp provides a step-by-step overview of the fundamentals of deep neural networks and walks attendees through the hands-on experience of building and improving deep learning models for applications related to scientific computing and physical systems defined by differential equations. The material will cover more advanced topics such as physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) and operator learning and make use of tools like NVIDIA Modulus to develop and train the models. This online bootcamp is a hands-on learning experience where you will be guided through step-by-step instructions with teaching assistants on hand to help throughout.

This Bootcamp, which will be hosted virtually for three days on June 25 – 26, is co-organized by the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS)Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC)Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ)Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC)University of Donja GoricaRISE Research Institutes Of SwedenLinköping UniversityOpenACC organization, and NVIDIA for EuroCC AustriaEuroCC@GCS, EuroCC Montenegro, and EuroCC Sweden, all National Competence Centres for High-Performance Computing.

More info and registration : https://www.openhackathons.org/s/siteevent/a0C5e000008AbEaEAK/se000315

NCC Montenegro and CIGRE organized successful HPC/AI Energy Workshop

NCC Montenegro, in collaboration with Montenegrin National Committee of CIGRE, one of the leading worldwide organizations on electric power systems, successfully organized a collaborative workshop, focusing on opportunities and benefits of HPC and AI complementary technologies in the energy sector, industry best practices and examples of high-fidelity energy metrics modelling. The workshop was attended by approx. 30 participants, academic researchers and industry experts, effectively converging HPC-powered AI research advancements with challenges and opportunities in the energy sector, driven by quality of predictive analytics and sustainability of energy models.

Representatives of HPC National Competence Centre of Montenegro, Sanja Nikolic and Luka Filipovic presented EUROCC2 project, NCC services, EuroHPC infractructure acces, PC4SME assessment tool and research, as well as success stories demonstrating advancements in HPC and AI applications in energy sector.

Mr Darko Krivokapić, Executive Director of the Directorate for Energy Management of the Montenegrin Electric Enterprise (EPCG), presented characteristics of Montenegro energy system and challenges of short- and long-term predictions of energy prices and consumption, depending on Montenegrin energy balance, renewable energy sources, weather conditions and trade dynamics/external risks facing electricity wholesale markets.

Mr Milutin Pavicevic PhD student@University of Donja Gorica and CEO of Alicorn, presented forecasting day-ahead electricity metrics (prices and loads) with different models of artificial neural networks and its accuracy comparison on the given dataset, elaborating on possible commercial implications in energy sector.

Mr Lazar Scekic, Teaching Assistant @University of Montenegro, introduced the audience with its research work on security challenges of electricity infrastructure (GPS spoofing) and reliable AI methods for the protection of electrical power systems against cyberattacks.

Mr Ivan Vujovic, PhD student @University of Belgrade and CEO of Tering, presented models related to prediction of production and consumption of electrical energy in the electrical system by using recurrent neural networks, discussing quality parameters that determine and improve predictive functioning of energy systems.

HPC and AI energy workshop enhanced awareness of NCC Montenegro services and EuroHPC infrastructure resources, available free of charge for the Montenegrin industry for the purpose of research, development and innovation.

Intensive discussion and exchange of opinions, expertise and experience between energy systems’ researchers and practitioners, including meteorological professionals also, open possibilities for the productive collaboration on calibrating computationally-demanding AI/ML models for national energy datasets, to improve their learning accuracy, prediction rates and potential of its commercial utilization in the energy system of Montenegro.

NCC MNE shared best practices @Industry Coffee Break

At the Industry Coffee Break on April 2nd, NCC representative Sanja Nikolic presented a concise overview of communication strategies, organizational efforts and NCCs and industry collaboration practices related to preparation of industry workshops in Montenegro, aimed to increase awareness on HPC/AI benefits, NCC services and EuroHPC infrastructure opportunities.

NCC Montenegro shared their strategic focus on cooperation with business associations, technology affiliations and industry clusters in organizing tailored HPC/AI workshops and steering companies’ interactions always keeping communication channels open and the collaboration model attractive (free NCC expertise and access to EuroHPC resources).

NCC Montenegro strongly supports international and interdisciplinary workshops to capitalize on the experience and expertise of the pan-European NCCs network, to heavily exploit EuroCC2 Success Stories, and to provide peer testimonials from companies already utilizing HPC resources to develop/optimize their AI models and promote business innovations.

HPC4SME AAT: Welcoming SMEs into HPC World

On 27th of March a HPC4SME AAT Task Force meeting was organized by NCC SLING Slovenia and led by partner Arctur. NCC Montenegro representative Sanja Nikolic participated in the meeting, aimed to promote the wider use of the HPC4SME Automated Assessment Tool within the NCCs network. The goal is to effectively reach European industry users and empower them with HPC technologies.

The HPC4SME AAT offers a streamlined process for companies to discover if and how they can benefit from innovative HPC technologies and applications. Company interaction starts with filling out web-based questionnaire, utilizing online HPC+ tutorials, receiving customized report with recommendations, and contacting NCC’s experts for further support/free access to HPC resources for companies’ R&D&I needs.
NCC Montenegro shared valuable first-hand experiences for successful utilization of HPC4SME AAT during the first EuroCC project phase, for HPC/HPDA/AI awareness raising, market intelligence, competence mapping and industry steering process. Based on the 50+ completed, companies’ assessments and advanced analytics, NCC Montenegro provided market- and industry-specific evidence on HPC potential users in Montenegro, and consequently completed 3 Success Stories with NCC experts support.

NCC SLING Slovenia upgraded HPC4SME Automated Assessment Tool with the support of the NCCs and officially launched it in late 2023. Currently, 24 NCCs are utilizing HPC4SME AAT across EuroCC2 footprint, with growing numbers local languages customizations and completed companies’ assessments. At this occasion, we kindly invite all industrial end-users, especially SMEs, to assess their HPC readiness and receive further NCC Montenegro support. Start here.