Supercomputing Info Day

Collaborative ” Supercomputing INFO DAY” involving NCC Spain, NCC Netherlands, NCC Slovenia, NCC Montenegro and NCC Cyprus will bring together companies from different countries and different industries to share their experience on using HPC infrastructure to improve their products and services, optimize business workflows and elevate industry competitiveness. By showcasing inspirational use cases and success stories, the event aims to promote company benefits arising from supercomputing opportunities and NCC services for industry.

We are inviting you to join us on 24th of January for the online industry event and discover supercomputing possibilities and potential for your company. Registration for the event: https://eurocc-spain.res.es/supercomputing-info-day/

NCC Montenegro: Meeting at UoM

University of Montenegro, NCC Montenegro’s affiliated partner, organized a EuroCC2 project meeting on December 13th, gathering deans, professors, and researchers from its Engineering and Science (Mathematics, Biology, Physics) Faculties, interested in HPC-powered research, development and innovation opportunities.

Professors Bozo Krstajic, UoM and Tomo Popovic, UDG provided introductory session on EuroCC2 project and joint UDG and UoM activities. Professor Luka Filipovic presented NCC Montenegro training activities, services and industry success stories.

The engaging discussion allowed academic participants to gain valuable insights into: HPC practical applications across various research domains, NCC infrastructure opportunities with Yotta Advanced Computing and application process for accessing EUROHPC resources. The next steps will be defined through HPC/AI-aligned research and project initiatives, and supported cooperation with public administration and big industry.

Workshop “Digital Transformation and HPC/AI” for BSc students

On 8 Dec 2023, a workshop on “Digital Transformation and HPC/AI” unfolded at the University of Donja Gorica. Over the course of this semester, final-year BSc students from the Faculty for Information Systems and Technologies delved into research on HPC and AI technologies within the framework of the Managing Information Technology subject. The EUROCC NCC Montenegro team conducted enlightening lectures and presentations on HPC and AI, providing students with a comprehensive grasp of these technologies and illustrating their pivotal roles in digital transformation.

Digital transformation and HPC/AI students workshop

During the workshop, students had the opportunity to showcase the projects they worked on throughout the semester, projects that will be defended during their final exam in Managing Information Technology course. The presented use cases spanned across various fields such as tourism, medicine, agriculture, and digital marketing. This event not only allowed students to share their findings but also fostered a deeper understanding of the practical applications of HPC and AI in real-world scenarios. Our focus was on the possible applications of interest for Montenegro and in the priority domains of Smart Specialisation Strategy for Montenegro (2014-2019).

Over 20 BSc students participated
AI powered chatbot for hotel reception
HPC/AI model cretion for sign language
HPC/AI for recognizing cultural and historic monuments
Prediction of attendance of sport events
Use of computer vision in medicine
Computer vision for drones for prevention of forest fire
Computer vision for precision agriculture and pest management
Event took place at the University of Donja Gorica

HPC4SME self-evaluation tool – Are you ready to use HPC?

NCC Slovenia/Arctur d.o.o led and CASTIEL supported Task Force HPC4SME that successfully mobilised 17 NCCs within EuroCC2 footprint, in joint effort to upgrade HPC4SME Automated Assessment Tool for evaluation of Cloud HPC readiness of the European companies.

Task Force activities were focused on content update (questions, answers, info fields, report, translation), fine tuning of MADM (Multi- Attribute Decision -Making Model), beta testing with SMEs and service upgrade to the new AAT system.

The enhanced HPC4SME Tool was formally introduced during CASTIEL webinar for the Industry Working Group by Arctur team, focusing on SME’s evaluation benefits and supporting activities on NCCs market intelligence, competence mapping and industry steering process.

HPC4SME Automated Assessment Tool is already available at NCC Montenegro website https://eurocc.udg.edu.me/hpc4sme-assessment-tool/, providing an opportunity for Montenegrin companies to discover IF and HOW they can benefit from supercomputing services.

Progress on AI4S3 project

In the previous period, as part of the AI4S3 project, which is supported by Innovation fund of Montenegro, numerous lectures on the application of artificial intelligence in S3 areas were organized at the UDG:

  • Python programming: Our participants went through a thorough training in Python, starting with the basics of the programming language, all the way to advanced topics. Through homework, our participants demonstrated a high understanding and application of Python in various scenarios. This was the first step towards strengthening their programming expertise.
  • Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI): this module was a journey through the world of artificial intelligence. We started with the historical development of the technology, exploring how machine learning and deep learning algorithms have evolved over time. In the pyTorch and TensorFlow suite, we developed some basic deep learning models. We focused especially on neural networks, explaining their mathematical and technical foundations. Participants gained a thorough understanding of the technologies that shape our world.
  • AI in S3 priority areas: this segment was extremely important because the basic idea of this training is precisely the application of new technologies. Innovative projects developed by our lecturers, specifically focused on the application of AI in S3 areas, were presented. This gave participants an insight into the practical application of AI in the real world. Also, we dealt with ethical issues and challenges in the development of AI models, encouraging participants to think critically about the impact of technology on society.
The training included Python basis, introduction to AI and ML, applications in S3 domains

With over 50 participants from various academic and industrial circles, our training has become a meeting place for different perspectives and innovations. By the end of this training, two more modules are planned, namely The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Computer Vision and Tools and Libraries for AI Model Development. At the very end, training participants will present their projects, which they will develop in teams in cooperation with mentors. This training is a continuation of previous NCC Montenegro and Open Mind Academy efforts.

Mr Stevan Cakic, AI4S3 project coordinator
Over 50 trainees from various academic and industrial sector
Participant will be trained and metored to implement their own hands on projects
The course included cross-collaboration and presentations of practical use cases

AmCham and HPC NCC Montenegro: Supercomputing for Industry Competitiveness

The Executive Office of American Chamber of Commerce and National Competence Centre for High Performance Computing Montenegro, organized joint workshop on innovative supercomputing technologies and applications on November 17th 2023 at University of Donja Gorica.

The AmCham member companies from various industry domains were greeted by Marko Mirocevic, AmCham Executive Director and Milica Vukotic, Dean of the Faculty for Information Systems and Technologies, emphasizing the importance digital acceleration and EuroCC2/Digital Europe project opportunities for enhancing industry innovations and competitiveness.

Representative of NCC Montenegro for industry cooperation, Sanja Nikolic introduced technical aspects and commercial applications of HPC systems, underlining transformative and innovative potential for the industry driven by integration of computational power (HPC/HPDA) and intelligent algorithms (AI/ML/DL). She also elaborated on EuroHPC supercomputing resources and access opportunities, as well as on possibilities for MNE companies to assess their HPC/AI readiness through HPC4SME self-evaluation tool (https://eurocc.udg.edu.me/hpc4sme-assessment-tool).

Representative of NCC Montenegro for service development, Luka Filipovic, presented new AI Master program and training courses, including Parallel Programing and Deep Learning, for enhancing HPC/AI skills, as well as other NCC services related to technical expertise, projects consultancy and preparation of use-cases for industry, academia and public sector. HPC/AI success stories in the areas of smart solutions for poultry farms, precise weather forecast in challenging topography of Montenegro, short-term predictive pricing in energy markets and personalized banking solutions, were presented in the constructive dialogues supported atmosphere.

AmCham members discussed challenges related to deploying AI models, issues with data availability and potential industry use-cases.

The joint event was great opportunity to promote supercomputing resources, applications and benefits available to Montenegrin companies, and to enhance industry interaction especially with the strategically aware and operationally proficient companies, to fully embrace future-proof technologies.

Media :

https://www.portalanalitika.me/clanak/amcham-i-hpc-ncc-montenegro-superracunari-za-industrijsku-konkurentnost

https://www.cdm.me/ekonomija/amcham-i-hpc-ncc-montenegro-superracunari-za-industrijsku-konkurentnost/

https://www.amcham.me/2023/11/workshop-on-hpc-ai-technologies-services-and-benefits-for-companies/