The AI Conference on Building a National AI Strategy

The AI Conference, organized by the World Bank on September 24-25, 2024, in Budva, Montenegro, brought together global AI experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from both the public sector and academia to explore the integration of AI into national strategies/policies, government operations, and public services. Representatives from NCC Montenegro actively participated in the two-day workshops, engaging in discussions on AI opportunities, challenges, and practical use cases for public administration. They emphasize the importance of digital upskilling and AI expertise, the need for data repositories and open data policies, and the establishment of advanced computing infrastructure. NCC also elaborated on its activities and efforts in the development of a HPC/AI ecosystem in Montenegro.

Mr. Marash Dukaj, Minister of Public Administration, delivered a welcoming speech recognizing the necessity of AI and its potential to enhance public administration, economic development, and societal progress. He highlighted AI’s ability to enrich citizens’ lives through personalized services, enhanced resource management, business process optimization, and new innovation opportunities. The Ministry of Public Administration, in partnership with the World Bank through the BEST project, is set to develop a strategic roadmap for AI adoption in Montenegro.

Dr. Keegan McBride, lecturer in AI, Government, and Policy at the Oxford Internet Institute, outlined essential AI concepts for public sector implementation. Barbara Ubaldi, Head of the Digital Government and Data Unit at OECD, shared valuable insights from AI strategies in OECD countries, highlighting various public sector AI applications, and lessons learned. AI expert, Varun Hemachandran presented practical examples of AI in government contexts, while Divya Siddarth, Executive Director of the Collective Intelligence Project, stressed the critical role of stakeholder engagement in AI development.

Participants engaged in working groups and brainstorming sessions focused on envisioning a national AI strategy, creating building blocks for AI governance, and addressing potential challenges in administrative services, tax policies, and digital health. The conference provided a dynamic platform for discussing strategic, transparent, and responsible approaches to AI integration in the public sector, fostering valuable knowledge, insights and networking opportunities to advance Montenegro’s AI agenda.

AIFUSION – Artificial intelligence in agriculture, medicine and energy

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.

A detailed agenda is available at link.

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.

Image(s) from previous workshops

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

Workshop: Application of HPC & AI in energy sector

NCC Montenegro, in collaboration with CIGRE Montenegro, is pleased to announce a collaborative workshop scheduled for March 29, 2024. This workshop is designed to enhance industry relations and explore the applications of High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies within the energy sector.
The workshop will provide Montenegrin companies with a comprehensive overview, including:

  • An introductory session on HPC systems, technologies, applications, and associated benefits.
  • Insights into the HPC activities spearheaded by NCC Montenegro.
  • Showcasing HPC success stories and best practices across diverse industries.
  • Highlighting success stories in the energy sector, both in Montenegro and across Europe.
  • Networking opportunities and follow-up consultations for attendees.

We believe that this workshop will significantly enhance awareness of HPC & AI opportunities in the energy sector. It will offer valuable insights and inspirational use cases to members and partners of CIGRE Montenegro, empowering them to remain abreast of the latest technologies and industry trends. Moreover, attendees will discover the transformative potential of supercomputing capabilities in augmenting their business strategies and competitiveness.

Event Details:
Date: 29.03.2024.
Time: 12:00
Location: Podgorica, University of Donja Gorica, 5th floor, hall Vizija
Registration link: https://forms.gle/NBTpJrhLrBZgznfBA
Agenda :

Join us and explore HPC and AI technologies with us, and take the chance to improve work in the energy sector.

IEEE IT2024 program is out!

We are pleased to inform you that the Program of the 28th IT Conference and the schedule of sections are posted on the site within the links “Conference program” and “Sections schedule”. You can access it on the conference’s website.

We would like to inform you that you can follow the work of the Conference via a videoconference link. Authors of papers will be able to present their papers using the ZOOM video conferencing system. Access links are posted on the Conference website, within the links “Section schedule” and “Conference program”. More detailed information is published on the website or you can get it from the technical secretary at it@ucg.ac.me.

For a user to use the ZOOM video conferencing system, the computer must have:

  • standard web browser,
  • webcam and headphones with microphone and
  • Internet connection
Click on image to open IT2024 website

EuroCC Workshop HPC and Industry Application: Registration and Zoom link available

Registration is open for the upcoming EuroCC Training Event – High Performance Computing and Industry Applications. This event is organized in alignment with the 28th International Information Technology IEEE Conference IT 2024, traditionally taking place in Žabljak, Montenegro. The workshop is organized in hybrid mode. EuroCC NCC Montenegro is organizing this event in collaboration with NCCs from Cyprus, Slovenia, Turkiye, Romania, Netherlands, and North Macedonia. You can register for the event by clicking on the image below or at this link.

Click on image to register

You can access the draft version of the agenda here. Please note that the Zoom link is made available in the latest Agenda.

Zoom link available here. The workshop starts on 12:45, 22 Feb 2024.

Click on image to view the Agenda