Author: Halyna Hyryavets

National Competence Centre for HPC at SlovakiaTech Forum Expo

From 14th to 15th September 2021 the 3rd edition of the largest technological conference in Slovakia and the international innovation and technology trade fair SLOVAKIATECH FORUM-EXPO 2021 took place in the Kulturpark in Košice.

The goal of the event was a meeting of Slovak and foreign experts in the field of innovation, industry and industrial technologies, energy, transport and logistics, environment and education, as well as a presentation of scientific and innovative potential of Slovak technological companies.

The National competence centre for HPC. was also present at the International Innovation and Technology Fair SlovakiaTech Forum - EXPO 2021. At the exhibition, we introduced the participants to NCC for HPC, explaining what is a supercomputer and high-performance computing. We also introduced our services, which include the provision of consultations, mediation of partnerships, free IT courses and the provision of machine time. Through the questionnaire, we found out how Slovakia is doing with high-performance computing, what companies and institutions in Slovakia have experience with it, where they see obstacles and in which areas they need consultations.  

The National Competence Centre for High-Performance Computing was established thanks to the European project EuroCC project. which is implemented in Slovakia by the Center for Joint Activities of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači. 

The National competence centre launches a nation-wide HPC survey

The national competence centre for HPC is launching a nation-wide survey of competencies and requirements in the field of high-performance computing and the usage of HPC+ solutions. Information gained through this survey will help the competence centre to create effective strategies for concrete support and services for private companies, academia and public administration.

The primary goal of the survey is to map the usage of HPC and associated technologies and to identify the demand for these technologies and solutions among Slovak private companies, small and medium enterprises, academic research groups and in public administration. This information is crucial for developing strategies, goals and services for the future National competence centre activities. According to the OECD publication SME Entrepreneurship Policy in Slovak Republic“*   the SMEs are facing several barriers in their digital transformation, such as lack of knowledge and experience. The National competence centre enables the knowledge transfer and adoption of HPC, HPDA, AI and ML technologies, where the benefits for private companies include competitive advantage on the market, effective processes, ROI and cost savings.

„“Apart from these activities the National competence centre has an ambition to facilitate the collaboration between experts and end-users coming from various areas and sectors. This survey will help us to identify experts in specific application fields, such as processing big data, advanced simulations and machine learning/artificial intelligence technologies.”  the coordinator of the project, Lucia Demovičová, stated.

The survey will also provide information about the computational capacities and resources required at the moment and into the future in Slovakia. Actual local data from Slovak HPC users, including the potential future ones, will be valuable in planning the new high-performance systems and developing the national HPC infrastructure.

The NCC was established within the EuroCC project implemented by the Centre of Operations of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. As a primary contact point for users and all parties interested in HPC in Slovakia the NCC provides several services free of charge that might be interesting for scientific teams, but also the private sector and public administration. Education activities, consultancy and access to computational resources are among the portfolio of NCC services that are meant to support the innovation potential and competitiveness in Slovakia.

Mapping of the HPC environment

* OECD (2021), SME Entrepreneurship Policy in Slovak Republic, OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9097a251-en.

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači. 

Public procurement of a new supercomputer

The Cente of Operations, Slovak Academy of Sciences has started a public procurement process to purchase a new supercomputer for the National competence centre for HPC. Research and development experts from academia and also the public and private sectors will take advantage of the new computational capacities.  

The access policy will be directed solely by the COO SAS. The new supercomputer will be accessible to academic groups, public sector organizations and also small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Information and further details concerning the procurement were published via the tenders electronic daily portal, a supplement of the Official Journal of the EU (30.7.2021) and the  Journal of the Office for Public Procurement (2.8.2021). After the 60 day period for the tender submissions and the subsequent evaluation the whole process will be reviewed by the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic and Office for Public procurement. The new supercomputer should be operational in the first half of the 2022.

The project National competence centre for HPC. (ITMS2014+ 311071AKF2) is financed through the Operational programme Integrated Infrastructure: OPII-2020/7/55-NP. One of the goals of this project is to support Slovak enterprises, especially the SMEs and to raise their innovation potential. This will be achieved by creating a platform for effective adoption of the HPC+ technologies, which is in alignment with the Slovak strategy for digital transformation. The EU Structural Funds will be used for procurement of a new HPC system, thus providing technical support and basis of the National competence centre.

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači. 

HPC FOCUS

New HPC FOUCS magazine was published. Since the last HPC FOCUS, several changes have taken place in the field of high-performance computing in Slovakia. Some may have gone unnoticed, some with greater media coverage, but we believe they have the potential to move us and the entire Slovak HPC community forward.

In April 2021, the SIVVP project was successfully finished, thanks to which the first Slovak supercomputer Aurel was acquired and operated in 2012, as well as other computing clusters in Bratislava, Žilina, Košice and Banská Bystrica.

One of the mentioned changes is that the role of the institution that will serve as the first contact for those interested in HPC will be gradually taken over by the National Competence Center for HPC (NCC). In addition to services for the academic sector, it will also focus on cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises, industrial companies and public administration institutions.

In recent months, the National Supercomputing Center (NSCC) has been established in Slovakia, which, as an association of the academic, private and public sectors, will form the hitherto missing and at the same time much-needed national vision and strategies for the development and support of HPC. The Slovak Renewal and Development Plan has already succeeded in pushing for funds for a new supercomputer, the construction of which is one of the goals of the NSCC in the coming years. In the magazine you will also find an interview with members of the NSCC board of directors Mgr. Lukáš Demovič, Phd. (SAS) and PhDr. Radoslav Repom (MIRRI).

You will also read about high-performance computing and weather forecasting at SHMÚ, popularization of HPC, applications in practice and pan-European HPC infrastructure.

Don't miss the news from the world of HPC in Slovakia and read the latest HPC FOUCS..

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači. 

The National competence centre pilot hackathon

Vymyslieť tému pilotného NCC hackathonu nebolo ľahké: HPC prostredie má svoje špecifiká a je pre mnoho ľudí celkom neznáme. Napokon sme sa rozhodli pre výzvu, ktorá by riešila niečo, čo poznáme a používame všetci: mobilnú aplikáciu. Konkrétne tá naša by mala prinášať používateľom HPC prehľad o ich výpočtových úlohách a stave výpočtových prostriedkov.

Organizátori z Národného kompetenčného centra pripravili tzv. backend aplikácie a umožnili účastníkom prístup k potrebným dátam priamo z klastra situovaného v Košiciach, kde si mohli sami spúšťat aj testovacie úlohy. HPC prostredie, výpočty a ich manažment pomocou nástroja SLURM sme priblížili na úvodnom webinári a 9. júla sa online hackathon mohol začať. Každý z dvoch tímov, ktoré sa aktívne zúčastnili, si zvolil iný prístup k vývoju: PWA (Progressive Web App) a Kotlin multiplatform. Obom tímom musíme uznať, že výborne uchopili projekt a výsledné riešenia a ich prezentácia sa nám veľmi páčili. Víťazná aplikácia by mala fungovať na zariadeniach s Androidom i iOS a dúfame, že po finálnych úpravách ju čoskoro budú môcť otestovať naši aj používatelia!

We also thank our partners and sponsors for media support and prizes. Big thank you to QuBit Academy, WebSupport, Cybersec.sk,  Learn2Code, Slovak Academy of Sciences and bart.sk!

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači. 

National video games day

Today, video games are an inseparable part of the life for a large amount of the population. We prepared several interesting facts about this phenomenon for today's National Video Game Day. The first video game is considered to be an artificial intelligence called Bertie the Brain, which was able to play Tic-tac-toe.  

This device was assembled in 1950 by Josef Kates to be exhibited at the Canadian National Exhibition. The first gaming device was up to 4 meters high, which is why it was never mass-produced. After the Canadian National Exhibition, no other piece was made again. Another computer adapted for playing a game was the Nimrod, which was introduced at the Festival of Britain in 1951. Nimrod and Bertie the Brain can be considered the founders of the world of video games in the form as we know it today. 

In the process of creating video games, an original idea is essential. At the beginning, it is important to know what type of game you want to create, whether it will be a sports game, action or logic game. The creator of the video game must have an idea of the story, the length of the game, the budget and the levels of complexity. An important step is the right choice of software that will make the work easier for developers. The longest-lasting phase in the creation of the game is the creation itself - designing the environment and individual characters. Creating a video game is a demanding and lengthy process, the most pleasant part of which is the publication of the game.

We often come across the opinion that video games have a negative impact on the players. A group of scientists under the expert guidance of Marc Palaus looked at it and Scientists have found out that video game players have better-developed areas of the brain which are responsible for concentration and spatial perception. Those who play video games regularly can better perceive the relationships between individual objects in space, and also fine motor skills improve.

It is also important to remember the risks involved that can strongly affect people's lives. Even though gambling is the most common form of addiction, one can also be addicted to video games. Scientists have found out, že ľudia náchylní na závislosť na videohrách majú spoločné zmeny v štruktúre mozgu – pozmenený je ich nervový systém odmeňovania. Ide o skupinu štruktúr, ktorá je zodpovedná za prijemný pocit po úspešnom dosiahnutí stanovených cieľov. Na základe týchto výskumov môžeme tvrdiť, že je možné predpovedať, kto má väčšiu pravdepodobnosť stať sa závislým na videohrách.

However, we must not forget the positives, which, in addition to better spatial perception and improved fine motor skills, also include the development of certain skills that people have a problem with. It is important to mention games which are intended specifically to help people after strokes. These support re-learning of certain skills and also help the rehabilitation process.

A specialised museum is available for all those interested in video games on the premises of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava The computer museum exhibits the first computers, telephones and graphics, or older models of game consoles and controllers. Functional machines are also available for trying out!

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači. 

EuroCC & Castiel Joint conference

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Second joint conference EuroCC & Castiel took place on June 22 – 23, 2021. The two-day online event was attended by 140+ representatives and members of all National Competence Centres. The programme of the conference focused on the upcoming 1st year reports and a review process that will take place in October 2021.  

Administrative issues were addressed by the Project Management Team and representatives from the Castiel working groups presented progress in their respective areas: competence mapping, training, twinning&mentoring, industrial interactions and business development and communication & outreach. An update from the EuroHPC JU was presented, as well. On the second day the participants learned more about the FF4EuroHPC open call.

Most importantly, the joint conference was an opportunity for all NCCs to present their progress in the first 9 months of the EuroCC project implementation, from their initial status to goals achieved and the future outlook.

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.

NCC Slovakia at the High-Performance Computing Conference in Portugal 24 Oct - On 22–23 October 2025, the 5th High-Performance Computing Conference (Encontro de Computação Avançada) took place at the University of Aveiro – Portugal’s main event dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation. The National Competence Centre for HPC (NCC Slovakia) was represented by Božidara Pellegrini.

Slovak scientists join forces in the fight against staphylococcal infection 23 Oct - Baktérie patria medzi najmenších, no zároveň najnebezpečnejších protivníkov v medicíne. Kým niektoré sú neškodné, iné dokážu spôsobiť vážne infekcie, ktorých včasná diagnostika rozhoduje o úspechu liečby. Tím slovenských vedcov preto skúma, ako odhaliť prítomnosť baktérií priamo v tkanive, rýchlo, presne a bez potreby invazívnych zásahov. Výskum spája konfokálnu Ramanovu mikroskopiu, fotodynamickú terapiu a analýzu dát na superpočítači.