Author: Halyna Hyryavets

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Success-Stories General

Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing

Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing

Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.

Researchers have prepared a simple user guide that explains, step by step, how to access available computing power. They did it themselves with the aim of helping anyone who wants to process large datasets, train artificial intelligence, model natural phenomena, or create new technological solutions. Just register, obtain a project, and you can explore, invent, and tackle your boldest ideas.

There’s no reason to be afraid.

You can think of a supercomputer as an extremely powerful machine with thousands of “brains” working together. It’s not sitting in your office or glowing under your desk — it’s housed in a specialized data center, and you control it conveniently through a web browser.

You simply prepare your task and submit it to the system. While the supercomputer gets to work, you can relax and enjoy a cup of coffee. Within minutes or hours, you’ll receive results that would take your laptop weeks to compute — or that it might not be able to handle at all.

Who can it help?

- students processing large amounts of data
- scientists testing new artificial intelligence algorithms
- meteorologists working on weather forecasting
- designers and engineers running simulations and developing new solutions
- doctors and biologists analyzing genomes or medical data
- small innovative companies without their own computing infrastructure

And many other fields are waiting for someone brave enough to explore them.

Why is it important?

We need a new impulse for innovation. We have smart people, bold ideas, and now also a tool that saves time, money, and opens the path to world-class results. The supercomputer is here to accelerate scientific progress and drive economic growth.

The first webinar coming soon

The authors of the guide are preparing a practical webinar designed for complete beginners. We’ll show that access to supercomputing is truly within everyone’s reach — for anyone unafraid to explore new possibilities. The goal is to spark curiosity and break down the barriers between technology and its users.

User Guide


Success-Stories
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
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Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection

Bacteria are among the smallest yet most dangerous adversaries in medicine. While some are harmless, others can cause serious infections where early diagnosis is crucial for successful treatment. A team of Slovak scientists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences is therefore exploring how to detect the presence of bacteria directly in tissue—quickly, accurately, and without the need for invasive procedures. Their research combines confocal Raman microscopy, photodynamic therapy, and data analysis using a supercomputer. 

Challenge: Recognizing whether tissue is infected with bacteria is not always straightforward. In the early stages of infection, the differences between healthy and damaged cells often cannot be detected even under a microscope. Although traditional biochemical tests can confirm the presence of bacteria, they are usually time-consuming and require sample collection.

Solution: To identify subtle differences between healthy and infected tissue, the researchers decided to combine experimental measurements with advanced data processing. Raman spectra obtained from different depths and regions of the tissue contained an enormous amount of information that could not be reliably evaluated using conventional visual methods.

The scientists therefore sought to verify whether this method could reliably distinguish healthy tissue from tissue infected with Staphylococcus aureus one of the most common causes of skin and mucous membrane inflammations. At the same time, the researchers focused on monitoring the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy—an experimental treatment based on carbon quantum dots that, when exposed to blue visible light, destroy bacteria without harming healthy cells.

Use of HPC Infrastructure

The team employed a mathematical analysis based on the Euclidean cosine of the squares of the first differentiated values, which enables the comparison of similarities between spectra after their transformation. This method eliminates background interference, highlights chemical changes in the tissue structure, and allows precise identification of differences caused by the presence of bacteria or the effects of treatment.

The computational power of a supercomputer was used to process the extensive datasets. Thanks to parallel data processing, it was possible to rapidly analyze hundreds of measurements from different tissue layers and visualize their similarities in a clear results matrix. Such an approach would be virtually impossible through manual evaluation.

The solution was developed through close collaboration among experts from multiple disciplines—biology, physics, materials research, and computational science. Reconstructed skin tissues were provided by the SK-NETVAL laboratories at the Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS), which also performed the exposure to the tested substances. The photodynamic treatment was applied by the team from the Polymer Institute of SAS, and the Raman data were collected at the Institute of Physics of SAS in cooperation with the Centre for Advanced Material Application.

Results

The analysis of the spectral data revealed significant chemical differences between healthy and infected tissue that can be detected using Raman microscopy. Samples infected with Staphylococcus aureus showed distinct spectral characteristics at all analyzed depths.

The results were particularly interesting in the samples that underwent photodynamic treatment. After the application of carbon quantum dots and subsequent activation with blue light, the chemical spectra closely approached those of healthy tissue. This suggests that the treatment effectively suppresses bacterial infection without damaging the cells themselves.

The applied algorithm proved to be a reliable and fast tool for comparing spectral data. Thanks to its implementation in the HPC environment, it was possible to automatically process large volumes of measurements and evaluate the results objectively, without any subjective interference from the researcher.

Impact and Future Potential

The project has brought new insights into the potential use of light and data analysis in medical diagnostics. It has demonstrated that combining Raman microscopy with computational methods enables not only the identification of bacterial infection in tissue but also the monitoring of treatment effectiveness in real time.

In the future, this approach could be applied in the development of new antibacterial therapies or in preclinical drug testing, where it is essential to quickly and accurately assess structural changes in tissue without invasive procedures. The research team also plans to extend the methodology to other types of bacteria and tissues and to leverage the computing power of the supercomputer for testing advanced artificial intelligence algorithms that could further automate the analysis.

The project is proof that the integration of biomedicine, physics, materials research, and computational science opens new possibilities for disease diagnosis and treatment.
Slovak research teams are thus not only demonstrating their scientific excellence but also contributing to pushing the boundaries of modern medicine.


Success-Stories
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
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Supercomputer Accelerated the Development of Eco-Friendly Hydrogen Production

Supercomputer Accelerated the Development of Eco-Friendly Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen is one of the key elements driving the transition toward sustainable energy. Its carbon-free production represents a cornerstone of the green energy future — from industry to transportation. However, finding an efficient and affordable way to produce it remains a scientific challenge that brings together chemistry, materials research, and computational modeling.

In this success story, we take a look at how Slovak researchers harnessed the computational power of the NSCC Slovakia supercomputer to accelerate the development of a cheaper and more eco-friendly catalyst for hydrogen production. By combining laboratory experiments with HPC simulations, they succeeded in understanding the behavior of atoms on the surface of a material that could one day replace expensive metals such as platinum.

This research demonstrates how High-Performance Computing (HPC) helps push the boundaries of scientific knowledge and supports the transition toward cleaner and more sustainable energy — right from Slovak laboratories.

Challenge: Hydrogen is increasingly seen as the “fuel of the future” — carbon-free, clean, and applicable across industry, energy, and transportation. However, to make it truly accessible, it must be produced more cheaply and efficiently. Traditionally, expensive metals such as platinum have been used for this purpose, but they are not suitable for large-scale deployment. Scientists are therefore searching for new materials capable of catalyzing (accelerating) the reaction through which hydrogen is released from water.

Solution: A team of researchers from the Institute of Chemistry at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice and the Institute of Materials Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences focused on molybdenum phosphide (MoP) — an inexpensive and readily available material with the potential to replace costly metals. They studied how MoP performs in different environments — from acidic to alkaline — and why it is able to maintain its efficiency.

The laboratory alone was not enough. The reactions on the catalyst’s surface are extremely fast and occur at the atomic level. To truly understand them, it was necessary to combine experimental research with computational simulations on a supercomputer.

Use of HPC Infrastructure

Collaboration with NSCC Slovakia and the use of a supercomputer enabled the researchers to create computer models of the catalyst and simulate what happens when hydrogen atoms bind to its surface. 

Thanks to HPC, the team was able to:

  • uncover the reaction mechanism — how hydrogen atoms behave on the surface of MoP
  • verify the stability of the material in different environments
  • predict potential improvements to the catalyst even before it is produced in the laboratory.

Impact

The outcome is significant for several reasons:

  • MoP is cheaper and more accessible than platinum, which could reduce the cost of hydrogen production.
  • The material works across a wide range of environments, meaning it could be deployed in various types of electrolyzers worldwide.
  • The combination of experiments and HPC simulations saves both time and costs — allowing researchers to identify the best solutions much faster.

This research shows that HPC is not just for physicists or computer scientists — it can also play a crucial role in advancing green energy. Thanks to the computational power of the supercomputer, Slovak researchers contributed to global knowledge on eco-friendly hydrogen production and paved the way for new technologies that can directly impact energy independence and sustainability.

A study of the mechanism of the hydrogen evolution reaction catalysed by molybdenum phosphide in different media – ScienceDirect


Success-Stories
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
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Watch the recording of the webinar MATLAB in a Nutshell

Watch the recording of the webinar MATLAB in a Nutshell

If you missed the September webinar MATLAB in a Nutshell you can now watch the full recording. The event introduced MATLAB – a powerful engineering tool and an interactive environment designed for scientific and technical computing, data analysis and processing, visualization, and algorithm development.

The lecturer, Ing. Michal Blaho (HUMUSOFT s.r.o.), guided participants through the basic MATLAB interface, demonstrated its practical capabilities, and explained how this tool can be effectively used to solve various engineering and research tasks. He also introduced Simulink, an extension of MATLAB that enables modeling and simulation of dynamic systems, as well as the design and testing of algorithms using the Model-Based Design approach.

In the second part of the webinar, the lecturer focused on specific application areas of MATLAB and Simulink — from data analysis, signal and image processing, through computer vision and artificial intelligence methods, to the design of control systems and the implementation of algorithms on various target platforms. Participants also learned how MATLAB and Simulink can be used for scaling algorithms and running simulations on powerful HPC clusters, opening up new possibilities for research and innovation.

At the end of the event, an open discussion took place, during which the lecturer answered participants’ questions related to specific solutions, licensing, and the integration of MATLAB into larger computational environments.

NEWS
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
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General

All Hands Meeting in Estonia

All Hands Meeting in Estonia

From 23 to 25 September 2025, representatives of the National Competence Centre for HPC, Halyna Hyryavets and Lucia Malíčková, took part in the final conference of the CASTIEL2, EuroCC2, EuroCC4SEE projects and the Centres of Excellence (CoEs), held in Tallinn, Estonia. The event brought together experts, representatives of national centres, and European CoEs to jointly discuss the future of high-performance computing in Europe, the sustainability of activities after the end of EuroHPC JU funding, and the preparation of the next phase of the EuroCC3 and CASTIEL3 initiatives.

The program included expert presentations on the status and progress of the projects, thematic working groups, and two extensive poster sessions where NCC Slovakia showcased its results. The poster highlighted activities in training and skills development in HPC, collaboration with industry and strategic partners, the HPC Ambassador Programme, and community building. We also presented our efforts to foster the adoption of HPC in Slovakia and across Europe, as well as our best practices in communication that enhance visibility and community engagement. The poster session sparked many inspiring discussions and new contacts, opening up opportunities for further collaborations.

In addition, Halyna Hyryavets participated as a speaker in the Pick my brain session  where she presented NCC Slovakia’s successful experience with communication on social media. She focused particularly on the systematic use of LinkedIn and Instagram, which NCC Slovakia strategically employs for different target groups – professionals from industry, academia, and public administration on the one hand, and students and young researchers on the other. Her talk sparked interest in how digital platforms can be effectively used to build visibility and engage the community.

The conference also provided space for working groups focused on communication, training, and industry. These sessions offered opportunities to exchange experiences among partners from across Europe and to discuss how to further develop both national and international HPC ecosystems. Special attention was given to the sustainability of national competence centres after the conclusion of the current projects, with discussions on new forms of collaboration and links to the upcoming EuroCC3 initiative.

The program also included the workshop “Improving communication within a project team”, which provided practical recommendations for more effective communication in project teams and strengthened NCC Slovakia’s ability to apply these insights in everyday practice.

The participation of NCC Slovakia in the final conference in Tallinn significantly contributed to strengthening European cooperation, preparing for the upcoming project phases, and building international ties that will support the development of high-performance computing in Slovakia.


Success-Stories
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
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General

MATLAB WORKSHOP: Scaling Algorithms and Simulations Using Parallel Computing 

MATLAB WORKSHOP: Scaling Algorithms and Simulations Using Parallel Computing 

Computationally intensive tasks, processing large volumes of data, and repeated simulation runs are everyday challenges in both science and industry. Modern approaches make it possible to significantly accelerate these processes by leveraging parallel computing and available hardware resources – from multiple CPU cores to GPU acceleration. MATLAB and Simulink offer a wide range of possibilities to efficiently utilize these resources without the need for specialized knowledge of GPU programming or complex HPC solutions.

As part of the upcoming workshop in the MATLAB Parallel Computing Roadshow series, we will demonstrate how algorithms and simulations can be scaled using parallel computing. Participants will gain a practical overview of MATLAB’s capabilities, from code optimization and computation parallelization to accessing remote computing clusters. The workshop will also provide space for questions, discussion, and sharing experiences.

Date: October 28, 2025, 9:00 – 12:00
Venue: Online
Speaker: Michal Blaho

REGISTRATION

Program

  • Code optimization for faster execution
  • Automatic support for parallel computing
  • Parallelization of loops with independent iterations
  • Using GPU for accelerating MATLAB code
  • Parallel execution of simulations in Simulink
  • Working with large-scale data (Big Data)
  • Access to remote HPC environments
  • Discussion and Q&A

Practical information

The workshop is intended for all participants who wish to get hands-on experience with parallel computing in MATLAB and Simulink. Participants will run examples utilizing multiple CPUs and GPUs. We recommend bringing your own laptop and checking in advance the availability of multiple CPUs and a GPU. If your device does not support these options, we will try to provide an alternative solution.

REGISTRATION

Success-Stories
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
Kategórie
Success-Stories General

The computing power of HPC brings new opportunities in the protection of the brown bear 

The computing power of HPC brings new opportunities in the protection of the brown bear 

High-Performance Computing (HPC) is a key technology of the modern era that fundamentally transforms the way complex problems are solved. Supercomputers can process enormous volumes of data and perform billions of calculations per second – tasks that would take ordinary computers months can be completed within hours. As a result, HPC accelerates scientific discoveries, enables simulations ranging from molecular interactions to climate change, and opens the door to the practical use of artificial intelligence. It is a driving force of innovation and competitiveness in medicine, industry, energy, and environmental protection.

It is not just an abstract concept – its benefits can be seen in concrete applications. Thanks to HPC, Slovak researchers trained complex artificial intelligence models on thousands of camera trap images to recognize the brown bear. A process that would normally take weeks was completed by the supercomputer in just a few hours. The result is a success story: the combination of modern technologies with nature conservation, improved human safety, and more efficient scientific work.

Challenge: The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is one of the most iconic yet also controversial species in our nature. In Slovakia, its population is relatively stable, but monitoring its movement and behavior is crucial both for nature conservation and for human safety. Traditional methods such as visual observation or tracking are time-consuming and often inaccurate. Modern camera traps can capture thousands of images from the forest, but evaluating them manually is practically impossible.

Solution: A team of researchers from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics at UKF in Nitra developed an artificial intelligence system aimed at automatically recognizing whether a bear is present in an image or not. They used convolutional neural networks (CNNs) – the same principle applied, konvolučné neurónové siete (CNN) for example, in facial recognition on mobile phones.

For training the model, they collected:

  • 4 974 images with a bear
  • 656 images without a bear (other animals or empty forest)

The data were provided by the Slovak Hunting Chamber, the National Zoological Garden in Bojnice, and the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic.

Use of HPC infrastructure: Training artificial intelligence on such data is extremely computationally demanding. It requires repeated processing of thousands of high-resolution images (512×512 px), parameter tuning, and testing of different model architectures.

A regular computer would need weeks for this process. Thanks to the supercomputer and NSCC Slovakia, it was possible to:

  • train the models within a few hours to days
  • compare multiple approaches (ResNet, MobileNet, YOLOv8/v10)
  • analyze the weak points of the model and visualize what it had “learned"

HPC enabled researchers to experiment quickly and efficiently – allowing them to move from a basic model to a methodology applicable in the future.

Results

  • The model learned to recognize the basic features of the bear and achieved high accuracy during training (>90%).
  • In real conditions (night shots, noise, camera movement), however, the accuracy is still insufficient for deployment in the field.

Impact and future: Although the results are not yet perfect, the research shows that artificial intelligence has great potential in nature conservation. In the future, automatic analysis of camera traps could:

  • help monitor the population size and movement of bears
  • reduce the risk of conflicts with humans
  • save researchers hundreds of hours of manual work

The next step is to expand the dataset and use synthetic data – computer-generated images that will enrich the training database. Here too, the supercomputer will be crucial, since generating and processing such data is again highly demanding.

Thanks to the supercomputer, Slovak researchers managed to build the first step towards a system that could, in the future, facilitate the monitoring of the brown bear – a species that is part of Slovakia’s natural environment and cultural heritage.


Success-Stories
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
Kategórie
General

MATLAB in a Nutshell: System Capabilities in Examples and Applications

Webinar Online Internet Website Web Page Concept
MATLAB in a Nutshell: System Capabilities in Examples and Applications

We invite you to the webinar “MATLAB in a Nutshell" which will introduce the MATLAB environment and its wide range of applications. MATLAB is a powerful engineering tool and an interactive environment designed for scientific and technical computing, data analysis and processing, visualization, and algorithm development. During the seminar, participants will become familiar with the basic MATLAB interface, how it works, and its practical use in solving various tasks. The Simulink extension will also be presented, enabling modeling and simulation of dynamic systems as well as algorithm modeling.

In the second part of the webinar, we will focus on the most common areas of MATLAB and Simulink applications, illustrated through a series of demonstrations. Finally, we will show how MATLAB capabilities can be leveraged for scaling algorithms and running simulations on powerful HPC clusters. The event is intended for a broad professional audience – participants from both academia and industry. No programming skills are required.

Title: MATLAB in a Nutshell: System Capabilities in Examples and Applications
Lector: Ing. Michal Blaho (HUMUSOFT s.r.o)
Date: 23. september 2025 (9:00 – 11:00)
Format: Online
Language: Slovak

Program:

  • MATLAB – Computational Environment
    • Creating Interactive Documents in the Live Editor Tool
    • Computations, Data Analysis, Visualization
  • Simulink – System Modeling and Simulation, Model-Based Design
    • Modeling of Physical Systems
    • Algorithm Modeling
  • Application of MATLAB and Simulink in Various Domains
    • Data Analysis and Data Science
    • Signal Processing
    • Image Processing, Computer Vision
    • AI and Deep Learning
    • Control System Design
    • Implementation of Algorithms on Target Platforms

At the end, there will be room for discussion and participants’ questions.

REGISTRATION

NEWS
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
Kategórie
General

How to Communicate Science and Technology Effectively: Our Team’s Experience

How to Communicate Science and Technology Effectively: Our Team’s Experience

Our team has long been dedicated not only to the development of high-performance computing, but also to the effective communication of the results and opportunities we bring to industry, academia, and the next generation of researchers. We consider this a key part of our work – a modern scientific and technological institution today cannot operate in isolation but must be able to clearly and transparently communicate the value and impact of its activities.

That is why we decided to transform our experience into a Best Practice for social media communication tailored to the IT and scientific environment. This document and set of recommendations were developed on the basis of long-term testing of specific approaches in practice and are grounded in tangible, proven results.

Challenges and Communication Needs

When developing our communication strategy, we faced a fundamental challenge: how to effectively and purposefully reach two distinct target groups, each with different expectations regarding content and with different ways of engaging.

On one side, there were professionals from industry, academia, and public administration – individuals with an expert background who are seeking concrete opportunities for collaboration, specialized know-how, and new technological solutions. For this group, credibility, professional authority, and a consistent presence in a professional environment are essential.

On the other side, we needed to reach students, PhD candidates, and young researchers who are interested in new learning opportunities, access to modern technologies, and prospects for careers in science and industry. This group is primarily active on visual and fast-paced platforms, where attractiveness of form, dynamism, and visual style of content play a decisive role.

It became clear that relying solely on NCC Slovakia’s official communication channels would keep our organic reach limited. We therefore needed to find a new way to combine professional communication with an attractive approach tailored to younger audiences.

Our Solution: LinkedIn and Instagram in Complementary Roles

The most effective solution proved to be the systematic use of LinkedIn and Instagram. Each of these platforms has a specific role and addresses a different target audience.

LinkedIn we used it as the primary channel for communication with the professional community. The key breakthrough was that we did not limit ourselves to the official NCC Slovakia page. We also engaged the personal profiles of our employees, HPC ambassadors, and management. They shared posts, tagged the official profile, and created their own content that naturally referred back to our activities. This approach significantly increased the credibility of the content, as it was not spread solely through an institutional channel but also via individuals with professional reputation. The result was not only greater reach, but also more interactions, shares, and organic growth in the number of followers.

Instagram proved to be an ideal platform for communication with students and young researchers. We focused on visually engaging content – posts, stories, and reels – that promoted our courses, workshops, and events. Collaboration with university faculties and student organizations also proved effective. With their consent, we tagged them in our posts, which these institutions then shared further. In this way, our invitations to free courses reached students directly, leading to the quick filling of capacities for several training sessions.

Concrete Results

Our Best Practice delivered measurable results. Within just a few months, we recorded a significant increase in both reach and engagement:

  • LinkedIn The number of followers grew organically from 500 to 593 between January and July 2025, providing clear evidence of the effective engagement of personal profiles and consistent activity.
  • Instagram Regular campaigns ahead of courses and events proved to be key for registrations – analytics confirmed that the highest number of click-throughs to registration links came directly from Instagram.
  • Combination of Both Channels made it possible to specifically reach both professionals and younger audiences and to turn increased awareness into actual participation in our activities.
Why This Approach Is Successful

Our recommendations show that effective communication in the IT and scientific sphere does not require large financial investments. What is essential are primarily an understanding of social media algorithms, the ability to tailor content to the target audience, and the willingness to involve people from within the organization in communication. Thanks to this approach, we were able to increase credibility, reach, and engagement without incurring additional costs.

Conclusion

Our Best Practice demonstrates that systematic and well-thought-out communication on social media can be a key tool for institutions in the fields of IT and science. It not only helps build a brand and raise awareness of activities, but also directly contributes to achieving concrete goals – whether by increasing participation in courses, supporting young researchers, or strengthening collaboration with industry and academia.

Our ambition is to further develop this approach and share it with partners both at home and abroad. We believe that these experiences can also be valuable for other institutions seeking ways to communicate effectively in the digital space while strengthening their professional reputation and societal impact.

We are pleased to note that, based on the document prepared within the EuroCC2 project, we have been invited by the Project Management Team to present our experience at the international all-project conference to be held in Tallinn in September.

We see this as a recognition of our work to date, which at the same time confirms the importance of Slovak expertise in the European context. For us, it is a clear signal that long-term systematic efforts, the building of know-how, and strong links with the international community are delivering results. It also confirms that Slovakia is capable of providing valuable solutions in the fields of HPC and artificial intelligence, while actively contributing to Europe’s common goals in digitalisation, innovation, and technological sovereignty.

We also see this recognition as a commitment – to continue strengthening our expertise, expanding services for industry and academia, and reinforcing international ties that help Slovakia consolidate its position within the European HPC ecosystem.

Best PRACTICE

NEWS
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.
Kategórie
General

HPC and MATLAB: A Strong Partnership for Accessible Supercomputing

HPC and MATLAB: A Strong Partnership for Accessible Supercomputing

Last week, an interesting working meeting took place where Lucia Malíčková, representing the National Supercomputing Centre and the National Competence Centre for HPC, met with Martin Foltín from HUMUSOFT s.r.o., the official distributor of MathWorks. The aim of the discussion was to explore new opportunities to bring the computing power of supercomputers closer to a wider range of users.
The public often associates High-Performance Computing (HPC) with complex programming and sophisticated processes reserved only for a narrow circle of experts. This can create a barrier and the perception that the world of supercomputers is out of reach for ordinary users. The reality, however, is different. Modern tools make it possible to open up supercomputing to those without a technical background. One such tool is MATLAB, which provides an intuitive and user-friendly environment. When combined with the power of a supercomputer, it becomes an extremely powerful instrument that virtually anyone can use. At the meeting, we therefore agreed to launch a series of workshops focused on specific application areas. These will demonstrate how HPC can support the development of medicine – from assisting students and doctors to supporting researchers and medical device manufacturers. Equally great potential lies in the field of finance, where high-performance computing can be applied to modelling and forecasting. Other promising areas include robotics, engineering, industrial production, and many more sectors that can gain a competitive advantage through faster and more accurate data processing.

The series of workshops aims to dispel the long-standing myths surrounding supercomputers. Instead of complex coding and complicated procedures, participants will work with an environment that is natural and easy to use. This will open the door to adopting HPC not only within the expert community but also among the wider public.

The partnership between the National Supercomputing Centre, the National Competence Centre for HPC, HUMUSOFT, and MathWorks represents an important step towards simplifying access to high-performance computing. It brings together strong partners with a clear vision: to bring supercomputers closer to people and to demonstrate that their potential can be harnessed even in areas where it would not have been expected just a short time ago.

NEWS
AI-Driven Archaeology with LLMs — Detecting Archaeological Sites from Aerial Imagery 30 Oct - Objavte, ako umelá inteligencia a veľké jazykové modely menia spôsob, akým odhaľujeme stopy minulosti. Webinár priblíži, ako pokročilé techniky umelej inteligencie inšpirované LLM dokážu analyzovať letecké a LiDARové snímky a detegovať archeologické lokality s bezprecedentnou presnosťou. Dr. Daniel Canedo z Univerzity v Aveire predstaví praktické príklady, v ktorých Vision Transformers a multimodálne učenie odhaľujú skryté vzory v krajine a spájajú moderné technológie s kultúrnym dedičstvom.
Supercomputer for Everyone: Dare to Discover the World of Modern Computing 28 Oct - Once, supercomputers were a mysterious technology accessible only to top scientists working in futuristic laboratories. Today, however, a completely new story is being written. Supercomputers are now available to ordinary users — from universities, small companies, and even public administration — anyone who needs to handle computations far beyond the capabilities of a regular computer.
Webinar amália: Towards a Multimodal LLM for European Portuguese 27 Oct - Pridajte sa k nášmu inšpiratívnemu webináru o vývoji amália, portugalského veľkého jazykového modelu, ktorý prináša bohatstvo európskej portugalčiny do novej éry multimodálnej umelej inteligencie. Na podujatí vystúpi prof. João Magalhães z NOVA LINCS, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ktorý predstaví ciele, architektúru a pokrok tohto národného AI projektu. Prednáška sa zameria na to, ako amália kombinuje spracovanie textu, reči, obrazu a videa a ako prispieva k vytváraniu kultúrne ukotvených a dôveryhodných systémov umelej inteligencie pre verejný sektor, akademickú sféru a priemysel.