News

EuroCC2: Hybrid event marks national launch of the project

March 30, 2023

On March 29th, the national partners of the EuroCC2 project met to present the work teams, create synergies and outline the strategies for the next 3 years. EuroCC2 aggregates 34 EU member states and aims to strengthen services and competencies in HPC throughout Europe to better serve academia, industry and the public sector. This project is funded by the EuroHPC JU and by each partner country's own funding. 

In the photo: João Nuno Ferreira (General Coordinator of the FCT-FCCN), Gabriel Pinheiro (MSc student at the University of Coimbra), Rui Oliveira (Director of MACC and member of the board of INESCTEC).

EuroHPC Summit 2023: The RNCA will be present in Gothenburg

March 24, 2023

On March 20-23 the EuroHPC Summit 2023 was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, under the theme European Supercomputing Excellence in the Exascale Era. The EuroHPC Summit is an annual event that brings together key European stakeholders in HPC, from vendors, to scientific and industrial users, to policy makers.

The Portuguese delegation participated in two sessions of the event, the highlight being the PRACE Summer of HPC Awards ceremony, where Gabriel Pinheiro, a master's student from the University of Coimbra, received the 2022 HPC Ambassador Award.

Would you like to know more about the EuroHPC JU contests?

March 20 2023

FCT and ANI organize, on March 24th at 3pm, an online clarification session on the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking tenders. The session requires prior registration.

The EuroHPC JU aims to develop, implement, extend and maintain in the EU a federated, secure and hyper-connected ecosystem ofhigh performance computing, quantum computing, services and data infrastructure.

Summer School: HPC for Environmental Aspects

March 6, 2023

From July 16 to 28, 2023, the University of Grenoble Alpes is hosting the International Summer School as part of the EUMaster4HPC program. This year's theme will be HPC for environmental aspects. The school is designed for students in the fields of mathematics, computer science or engineering specializing in HPC. Applications are open until May 15.

2nd edition of Cloud Artificial Intelligence Competition to open applications soon

March 1, 2023

The 2nd edition of the Contest for Projects in Advanced Computing: Artificial Intelligence is coming soon! The Foundation for Science and Technology, through the RNCA, and in partnership with Google, will support research projects in the area of Artificial Intelligence in Portugal in the amount of 1 million dollars in credits on the Google Cloud platform. The 1st edition granted access to 11 projects for 12 months, starting in September 2022. Soon, we will release news about the opening of the 2nd edition.

3rd edition of the Advanced Computing Projects Competition opens lot C

March 1, 2023

The call for advanced computing projects is still accepting applications for typologies A0 - Experimental Access and A1 - Preparatory or Development Access. Lot C closes on April 4 (1pm, Lisbon time) and lot D on May 31 (1pm, Lisbon time) or until the quota defined for each access typology is exhausted. The RNCA will hold a new information session on March 28th at 12pm. In this session, users with and without advanced computing experience will be able to clarify their doubts with RNCA's experts and technicians. So far 43 advanced computing projects have been approved and about 3 M core.hours have been allocated.

EuroCC2: three new project years

February 22, 2023

During February 7, 8 and 9, representatives of the countries that make up EuroCC 2 were gathered to learn about and discuss in detail the plan for the next three years. There are 34 nations, working together, in this ongoing mission to raise Europe to the highest level of supercomputing.

The Portuguese consortium is composed of the following entities: FCT, INESC-TEC, LIP, University of Coimbra, University of Évora, IST-UL, University of Aveiro, University of Algarve, University of Beira Interior, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro and University of Porto.

The LUMI supercomputer is officially available to serve European scientists!

February 22, 2023

All eligible European scientists can now apply for LUMI. Half of the system's resources are shared through EuroHPC tenders and are directed to the research communities, public administration and industry, while the other half are shared by the LUMI consortium countries. The EuroHPC JU supercomputer reached third place in the Top500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers on November 14, 2022. LUMI achieved a measured high performance Linpack (HPL) performance of 309 petaflops on this biannual list.

RISC2 Project Hosts "HPC system & Tools" Webinar Series

February 22, 2023

The "HPC system & Tools" series, promoted by the European RISC2 project, is back for its second season. The goal is to present cutting-edge methods and tools for the installation and maintenance of HPC hardware and software infrastructures. The first four webinars are already scheduled and, on May 31st, João Barbosa, Assistant Researcher from INESCTEC and University of Minho, will talk about Addressing the challenges of scientific visualization in the Exascale age.

Inaguration of the Competence Centre for Advanced Computing at the University of Beira Interior

January 26, 2023

On January 25th, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Prof. Elvira Fortunato, inaugurated the room of the Advanced Computing Competence Center of the University of Beira Interior (3CA-UBI). This center results from a protocol with FCT with initial funding of one hundred thousand euros and inclusion of this space in the RNCA centers and services roadmap. It stands out for being a point of knowledge sharing and access to computing and data visualization resources.

New information session on January 25

January 16, 2023

RNCA will hold another informative session on January 25th at 11:30am. In this session, users with and without advanced computing experience will be able to clarify their doubts about the two types of applications: A0 - Experimental Access and A1 - Preparatory or Development Access. Batch B accepts applications until February 7th (1pm, Lisbon time). Lot A approved 25 advanced computing projects, totaling almost 2M core.hours awarded.

Access to EuroHPC supercomputers remains open

December 29, 2022

Researchers from academia, research institutes, public authorities and industry in Portugal can apply for and access EuroHPC supercomputers. Applications are accepted in different access modes: Benchmark, Development, Regular and Extreme Scale, with different collection dates for the year 2023. RNCA offers support to interested parties through the national competence center eurocc-portugal.

Europe Opens Program to Train Students in Supercomputing

December 29, 2022

Applications for the various master's degrees that are under the EUMaster4HPC program (with the second year being at a European university) are running until February 23, 2023.

FCT's FCCN unit highlights the role of advanced computing and the European EuroCC project

December 29, 2022

From high performance computing to connectivity, including support for scientific research, there are several areas in which the FCCN Unit has developed innovative initiatives. Learn more about some of them here.

Advanced computing training opportunities offered by EuroCC

December 16, 2022

Through the EuroCC project, the National Competence Centers offer education and training opportunities in a variety of advanced computing topics. From beginner courses to expert courses, find upcoming dates here.

The date and venue for the EuroHPC Summit 2023 has been set

December 16, 2022

The motto for next year's conference is out: supercomputing in the exascale era. It is scheduled for early next year in Sweden. The annual event is designed for everyone interested in HPC matters, from vendors, to scientific and industrial users, to policy makers. The upcoming edition will have a particular focus on exascale supercomputing, but no details will be left out about the current European landscape, as well as present and future opportunities and challenges.

ICAIL 2023: International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law will take place in Braga from June 19th to 23rd

December 16, 2022

The International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (ICAIL) has been the premier international conference on research in Artificial Intelligence and Law. It is organized biennially under the auspices of the International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Law (IAAIL) and in cooperation with the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Proposals for workshops and tutorials are accepted until December 16, 2022 and paper and demonstration submissions until February 1, 2023.

3rd edition of the Advanced Computing Projects Call: Deadline extended for the A2 access typology

November 29, 2022

FCT postpones the deadline for submissions of applications for the A2 access typology - Regular Access or Project to 15/12/2022 (13h, Lisbon time). The remaining typologies, A0 - Experimental Access and A1 - Preparatory Access or Development, maintain the deadline for the first batch for 13.12.2022 (1pm, Lisbon time), being possible to submit an application to these last two typologies until 31 May 2023 (subject to availability of resources).

New Info Session on November 30th about the Advanced Computing Projects Call

November 22, 2022

After a great attendance to the first informative session, a new session will be held on November 30th. The videoconference will open at 11:30 for candidates or interested parties with no previous experience, and after 12:00 for candidates or interested parties with advanced computing experience. 

Portuguese computing community gathers at the 2nd RNCA 2022 Meeting

November 18, 2022

The first face-to-face edition of the RNCA 2022 Meeting took place at LNEC, on November 15. Portuguese and European computing was debated, the challenges that still exist, the milestones already achieved and the next bets. The event was sponsored by Fujitsu.

The event Conversation with Researchers: Artificial Intelligence in the Cloud brought together experts from various scientific areas

November 15, 2022

On June 7, researchers awarded with resources on the Google Cloud Platform met for an informal conversation about artificial intelligence. In the two sessions, moderated, respectively, by Luís João (Google PT) and by Prof. Luísa Coheur (IST-UL), the latest scientific advances in the area and the future of artificial intelligence in Portugal and in the world were debated. The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, and the Vice President for AI at Google, Fernando Pereira, renewed the collaboration between FCT and Google, reinforcing its importance for technological advancement in Portuguese soil. In the photo: Elvira Fortunato (MCTES), Helena Martins (Google PT), Fernando Pereira (Google).

Conversation with Researchers: Artificial Intelligence in the Cloud, November 7, 9:45 AM

October 28, 2022

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and Google will hold, on November 7th, a meeting and debate with the researchers selected by the Advanced Computing Projects Call: artificial intelligence in the cloud, with the presence of the Minister of Science and Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, and Google's Vice President for Artificial Intelligence, Fernando Pereira. 

3rd edition of the Advanced Computing Projects Call: Applications open October 25th

October 25, 2022

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through the FCCN unit, opens applications for the 3rd edition of the Advanced Computing Projects Call on October 25th. This call aims to consolidate and strengthen the national technological and scientific system through Advanced Computing resources for Research and Innovation in collaboration with the four operational centers of the RNCA.

RNCA 2022 Meeting: November 15th in Lisbon, in the small LNEC auditorium

October 25, 2022

The second edition of the RNCA Meeting will take place on November 15 in the small auditorium of the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering in Lisbon. It aims to promote access to national as well as European resources, stimulate cooperation between the operational and competence centers of the network and empower both the scientific and business communities for advanced computing through dialogue and sharing of success stories. Mark your calendar!

IBERGRID2022: the RNCA in the 11th Iberian Conference

October 12, 2022

The 11th Iberian Grid Conference took place from 10 to 13 October at the University of Algarve in Faro. The event was jointly promoted by the FCT, the Ministry of Science of Spain and the European Commission, and featured varied scientific and technological sessions, from cooperation between Iberian research communities to the development of innovative digital services and the implementation of digital twins. In the photo, from left to right, next to the EuroCC project stand: João Nuno Ferreira, General Coordinator of FCCN-FCT, and João Pagaime, RNCA Manager.

JURES22: RNCA was present at the 16th user conference

20 September 2022

On September 14 and 15 the RNCA participated, as an observer, in the Users Conference of the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES), in Cáceres. With the installation of the supercomputers: Marenostrum 5 in Spain and Deucalion in Portugal and, in the scope of the Iberian Network for Advanced Computing (RCM 60/2021 and Despacho n.º 8459/2022) and common projects EuroHPC, it is opportune to deepen contacts between the two national networks (RNCA and RES) with a view to better exploiting computational resources and continue developing avenues of cooperation between Portugal and Spain in advanced computing. In the photo, from left to right: Oriol Pineda Martinez, João Pagaime, Sergi Girona, Catarina Guerreiro.

EuroCC: RNCA was at the first conference in Montenegro

September 13, 2022

On September 7, 8 and 9 the RNCA participated in the first face-to-face conference of the EuroCC project in Budva, Montenegro. Three days were dedicated to the 33 new centers of competence of the member countries, the results obtained over the two years of the project and the successor project, EuroCC2, which will start next year, 2023. EuroCC aims to close existing gaps in HPC competencies, promoting cooperation and implementation of best practices in member countries and associated participants across Europe.

Professor Marija Vranic wins "PRACE Ada Lovelace Award

August 23, 2022

Awarded annually to a female scientist in recognition of her outstanding contribution and impact on High Performance Computing (HPC) in Europe and worldwide, inspiring other women at the start of their scientific careers, the "PRACE Ada Lovelace Award" came to Técnico this year for the first time. The winner of the 2022 edition is Professor Marija Vranic, a researcher at the Lasers and Plasmas Group of the Institute of Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion, whose pioneering work on techniques for representing quantum effects in extreme plasmas has not gone unnoticed across borders.

Complete news at: https://tecnico.ulisboa.pt/pt/noticias/campus-e-comunidade/professora-marija-vranic-vence-o-premio-prace-ada-lovelace/

EuroCC: First conference of the project takes place in September

August 23, 2022

The first conference of the EuroCC project takes place on September 7-9 in Montenegro, in the city of Budva. The event will feature internal project sessions and public sessions streamed on the event website. The event will feature interesting panel discussions, news from the National Competence Centers and more. The EuroCC project aims to close existing skills gaps in HPC by promoting cooperation and implementation of best practices in the 33 member countries and associated participants across Europe.

Results of the 1st Google-supported artificial intelligence call: 11 candidate projects approved

August 23, 2022

FCT has published the preliminary results of the Advanced Computing Projects Call: Artificial Intelligence in Cloud 2022. Eleven projects were approved for access to Google Cloud Platform credits, with a total value of 799 364 USD (American dollars), earmarked for this year. The resources in the call result from a collaboration agreement between FCT and Google to support research in Artificial Intelligence in Portugal. Next year it is intended to launch the second edition of this call for projects in artificial intelligence in the cloud and extend the initiative to more national users.

EGI 2022: the future of computing at the service of scientific research

August 8, 2022

Prague hosts the annual event organized by EGI and CESNET. From September 20-22, the EGI 2022 conference debates innovation in computing to ensure better and greater support for research. The program and pre-registration are now available and can be found on the event's website.

RES: 16th User Conference will be in Cáceres, September 14-15 2022

20 July 2022

The Spanish Supercomputing Network - RES is organizing the network's Annual Users Conference to showcase news and provide information of interest about access to its resources and the European HPC ecosystem. This event is a meeting place for sharing knowledge and experiences in the use of HPC that RNCA will not miss.

MUG 2022: RNCA presented its centers and calls to the HPC community

19 July 2022

The RNCA accepted MACC - Minho Advanced Computing Center's invitation and on July 7 and 8 headed to Porto to participate in a MUG session dedicated to RNCA and its HPC users. RNCA congratulates MACC for the excellent organization and for the program full of remarkable speakers that resulted in valuable conversations around the state of the art of HPC in Europe and in the world. The event was attended by the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, the vice-president of FCT, Francisco Santos, and the executive director of EuroHPC-JU, Anders Dam Jensen, among many others.

Jornadas 2022: We marked our presence on June 2nd in Viseu

19 July 2022

On 2nd June, the Scientific Computing Conference 2022, organized by the FCCN Unit, FCT, included a session entitled Advanced Computing. The various advanced computing services in Portugal and the centers which make up the National Network for Advanced Computing - RNCA - were highlighted. It was with great satisfaction that we gave the stage and voice to all the RNCA's member centers and debated the present and future of advanced computing in Portugal.

IBERGRID 2022: 11th edition will take place at the University of Algarve

23 June 2022

The 11th edition of the IBERGRID Conference will take place at the University of Algarve, Faro, between October 10 and 13. IBERGRID 2022 will focus on topics related to the development, adoption and quality of integration of services, applications and digital twins to support cutting-edge research.

MUG 2022: Porto hosts MACC HPC event

23 June 2022

From July 7 to 8, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Porto will host MUG 2022, organized by Minho Advanced Computing Centre. The event aims to foster a collaborative environment between potential and current HPC users and the operational team to better serve the scientific community.

Meet the new program "EuroCC MSc Fellows in Advanced Computing" at Instituto Superior Técnico

9 June 2022

On May 19th we went to Instituto Superior Técnico (IST-UL) to attend the presentations by the students of the EuroCC master's degree in Advanced Computing and to get to know the national and European supercomputer ecosystem and the training opportunities offered by the EuroCC project. Learn more about IST's new scholarship program and the EuroCC project.

The National Advanced Computing Network at the Science 2022 meeting

19 May 2022

A session on the National Network for Advanced Computing (RNCA) was held on May 17th at the Lisbon Congress Center, where its operational centers and the experience resulting from the Advanced Computing Project Calls (CPCA) were presented.

RNCA will be present at the Jornadas de Computação Científica 2022

5 May 2022

Between May 31 and June 2, the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu will be the meeting point for the community served by the FCCN, FCT Unit during the Scientific Computing Journeys 2022. The RNCA and its Centers will be present at the event.

Artificial Intelligence in Cloud: 1st edition of Project Call

24 March 2022

Starting March 30 and running through May 18, applications are open for the Advanced Computing in Artificial Intelligence Cloud Project Call, which will provide funding of $1 million.

List of Approved Projects in the 2nd edition of the Advanced Computing Competition has been disclosed

07 March 2022

The second edition of the Advanced Computing Projects Competition for Typology A2 - Project Access registered 58 applications, with a total number of requested hours 391% higher than the available capacity.