Author: Halyna Hyryavets

FF+ is an ambitious European project aimed at accelerating digital transformation and promoting sustainability in manufacturing. The project’s goal is to connect manufacturing companies with digital innovation hubs and centres of excellence across Europe. At the same time, FF+ provides a framework for collaboration at the European level, which is essential for the effective sharing of knowledge, technologies, and best practices among EU member states.

The National Competence Centre for HPC in Slovakia has long focused on supporting industrial digitalisation through high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics. Its goal is to enable Slovak companies – including SMEs – to harness the potential of modern technologies for innovation, increased efficiency, and reduced time-to-market for research and development. In this field, the NCC for HPC has experience in implementing pilot projects, providing technological consulting, and organising tailor-made training programs.

The meeting with the FF+ team at the ASHPC25 conference represented an important step towards building bridges between national and European initiatives. Both sides agreed on the need for further coordination and the development of collaboration. Specific opportunities for synergy were identified, such as involving industrial partners in testing and applying HPC solutions, as well as exchanging data models and algorithms between research and manufacturing entities.

ASHPC25 is an annual event that brings together HPC experts, users, and solution providers from across Europe, offering a platform for professional exchange on the latest developments, challenges, and trends in high-performance computing. The Slovak Competence Centre for HPC was represented at the conference by Halyna Hyryavets (communication activities and international cooperation), Božidara Pellegrini (innovation support and services for the private sector), and Tomáš Kollárik (educational activities and cooperation with academia). On the very first day of the event, a meeting of the Central European Working Group took place, bringing together national HPC competence centres from Central European countries. This session provided valuable space for exchanging experiences, identifying common challenges, and fostering synergies within the EuroCC project.

During the conference, the Slovak team actively participated in several expert discussions and bilateral meetings. Božidara Pellegrini led a working session with Tina Črnigoj, dissemination coordinator of the Future Factories Plus (FF+) project, focused on identifying synergies in supporting innovation, digital transformation, and the involvement of SMEs in adopting HPC, AI, and advanced technologies. Halyna Hyryavets and Božidara Pellegrini also held discussions with Karina Pešatová, founder of the Central European Chapter of Women in HPC, exploring opportunities for future collaboration. Tomáš Kollárik established new contacts with experts and potential trainers for the upcoming educational activities of the NCC, thereby strengthening the network of professionals in the fields of HPC and data analytics.

The working groups and panel sessions addressed several current topics, including access to EuroHPC JU computing resources, improving the efficiency and availability of training services, targeted communication towards diverse user groups, and supporting companies and startups in adopting HPC and data technologies. Discussions also covered the development of the AI Factories initiative, which represents a new impulse for strengthening European capacities in the field of artificial intelligence.

Participation in the ASHPC25 conference was highly beneficial for the Slovak team. It contributed to strengthening regional and European cooperation, establishing new partnerships, and deepening expert dialogue on the importance of HPC for research, public services, and business.

The National Competence Centre for HPC in Slovakia was represented at the meeting by Halyna Hyryavets, who is responsible for communication, marketing activities, and cross-border cooperation; Tomáš Kollárik, who oversees educational activities; and Božidara Pellegrini, who focuses on facilitating HPC services for the private sector and building partnerships with companies.

As part of the working discussions, we addressed several current topics. We focused on access to EuroHPC JU computing resources, discussed ways to improve training and educational services to better meet user needs, and also explored how to enhance the clarity and accessibility of information through targeted and clear communication.

An important topic of discussion was also the support for companies and startups in accessing HPC infrastructure. We shared our experiences and discussed joint initiatives at the European level. A significant part of the meeting was dedicated to the AI Factories initiative, which represents a new impetus for the development of artificial intelligence in Europe and opens up further opportunities for Slovakia – whether in terms of access to computing capacity, support for innovation, or talent development (even though an AI Factory has not yet been established in Slovakia).

We are glad to have actively contributed to the expert discussions and shared our insights and experiences, which can help further strengthen the HPC ecosystem in the region. We see such in-person meetings as extremely valuable for coordination and effective collaboration across the entire EuroCC network.

We thank the organizers for a well-prepared event and look forward to continuing our joint activities that help bring high-performance computing closer to people, businesses, and institutions across Europe.

While traditional artificial intelligence models are trained to recognize objects from predefined categories (such as “dog,” “car,” or “tree”), modern research is shifting toward enabling machines to perceive any object as a distinct entity—even if that object has never appeared in the training data before. This advancement is particularly crucial in the field of robotics, where machines operate in unpredictable environments and must independently identify new and unfamiliar objects.

The lecture introduced several breakthrough technologies that make this advancement possible. The main topics included:

• the use of the DINO model (2021), which was trained without the need for annotated data and enables a humanoid robot to direct its attention to relevant parts of a scene,
• the use of the CUTLER model (2023) and the MaskCut method, which operates on the principle of optimizing the image's graph structure (NCut) and enables efficient object segmentation,
• new approaches to generating precise segmentation masks using neural network learning, which improve the accuracy of object localization and shape within an image.

In addition to the technological overview, the webinar also offered practical demonstrations of how these models are applied within a robotic system. Participants had the opportunity to gain insight into the research process and understand how theoretical knowledge is put into practice—from model training to deployment in real-world environments.

The event was intended for a broad expert audience—researchers, educators, PhD candidates, students, and professionals in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer vision. The high attendance and the number of questions during the discussion confirmed that this is a highly relevant and rapidly evolving area of research.

We thank everyone who participated in the webinar and trust that the knowledge gained will contribute to the continued advancement of research and innovation in this field.

Participants gained deeper insights into the technical foundations of transformer architectures, including how these models process input data, generate responses, and why they are both powerful and computationally demanding. A particularly intriguing part of the presentation was the introduction of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which offers a new approach to handling context and memory within LLM systems. MCP was compared with other methods such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and so-called Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocols. These emerging methodologies highlight the direction in which LLM technologies are evolving and the potential they hold in the development of personalized chatbots, intelligent assistants, and autonomous AI agents.

Lucia Malíčková and Halyna Hyryavets represented the National Supercomputing Center (NSCC) at the event. During the meetup, Lucia Malíčková introduced the mission and activities of the NSCC, as well as the range of services the center provides to both the research community and academic institutions. She also presented the work of the National Competence Center for HPC, which supports Slovak businesses, researchers, and public institutions in transferring knowledge and innovation in the field of high-performance computing into practical use.

During the event, we also officially announced the beginning of a new collaboration aimed at connecting the artificial intelligence community with experts in high-performance computing. We believe this synergy will open up new opportunities for leveraging advanced AI technologies in areas that require significant computational power—such as training large models, running simulations, or processing complex datasets. We look forward to future joint activities and discussions that can help strengthen the link between technological infrastructure, applied research, and innovation.

The event took place in a friendly and open atmosphere, providing space for discussion, networking, and sharing experiences among participants from various fields — including data science, academia, technology companies, and startups. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the organizers for their professional preparation and for giving us the opportunity to be part of a community that is eager to engage in conversations about the future of technology in an expert yet accessible way.

Our participation confirms that the topics of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are becoming increasingly relevant—and increasingly interconnected—within Slovakia. We are pleased to have contributed to this important discussion and look forward to future opportunities to showcase the benefits and potential that HPC infrastructure offers for AI development and the digital transformation of society.

During our working meetings with representatives of the program, we explored specific areas of cooperation. We discussed opportunities for student internships as well as involvement in solving practical tasks related to high-performance computing (HPC). We see the interest in linking the academic and technological environment with real-world practice as one of the key prerequisites for preparing experts to tackle the digital challenges of the future.

At the same time, we discussed with SARIO the possibility of expanding our cooperation to include a master's program project focused on talent development in the field of supercomputing. Through this initiative, we aim to support the creation of a new generation of specialists capable of tackling complex computational tasks across various sectoral challenges—from industry to research and development.

For us, this cooperation is of strategic importance. It represents a concrete step toward ensuring that Slovakia becomes not only a user but also a creator of advanced digital solutions. We are building connections between the public sector, education, and innovation—exactly the kind of partnership that can move the country forward in terms of technological progress.

We also discussed opportunities for further cooperation during a meeting with project manager Barbora Szepeová. We value the established dialogue and believe that we can build a long-term partnership that will deliver tangible results for companies, students, and the professional community alike.

We are convinced that by systematically combining expertise in high-performance computing with initiatives such as Internships for Universities – Solutions for Companies, we can make a real contribution to transforming Slovakia into an innovative economy built on knowledge, data, and modern technologies.

In the interview, she outlines the practical applications of supercomputers in industry, healthcare, marketing, and public administration. She shares experiences from companies that have decided to harness computing power to solve specific problems – from optimizing production and analyzing customer data to developing new products. At the same time, she openly addresses the barriers that often prevent companies from taking the first step – such as concerns about technical complexity or complicated procedures – and explains how, with the support of our center, these obstacles can be easily overcome.

We also invite you to join the upcoming online workshop Supercomputer in Business – The Secret Weapon for Your Success,taking place on May 13, 2025. The workshop is intended for companies interested in exploring the practical uses of supercomputers, learning from real-life examples, and discovering how they can collaborate with us.

If you're curious about how a supercomputer could benefit your business, be sure to read the full interview..

The discussion focused primarily on facilitating effective access to cutting-edge computing infrastructure and leveraging expert know-how in the fields of high-performance computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. The National Supercomputing Centre thus acts not only as a technical partner but also as a strategic intermediary between research institutions and modern tools of digital science, helping to ensure more efficient use of computational resources in addressing complex interdisciplinary research challenges.  

Kľúčovým bodom stretnutia bola príprava spoločného projektu, ktorý bude realizovaný na národnej výskumnej infraštruktúre Devana, ktorá je prevádzkovaná Výpočtovým strediskom SAV. Počas stretnutia so zástupcami SAV sme diskutovali o analýze štruktúrnych vlastností technických tkanín s cieľom lepšie porozumieť ich  správaniu v špecifických podmienkach. Projekt prirodzene prepája odborné kapacity z oblasti polymérnych a biologických materiálov, fyzikálnych analytických metód a výpočtovej techniky – a predstavuje ukážkový príklad interdisciplinárneho prístupu k riešeniu komplexných vedeckých otázok.  

This type of collaboration also reflects the long-term vision of the National Supercomputing Centre: to build a network of expert partnerships aimed at supporting science, research, and innovation in Slovakia, creating opportunities for knowledge and technology transfer, and strengthening the competitiveness of Slovak research institutions within the European research area. 

The webinar focused on how high-performance computing (HPC) supports addressing emerging challenges in the field of digital forensics, particularly in processing and analyzing large datasets resulting from cyber incidents. Participants had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Dr. Mazhar Malik from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), an expert in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and digital forensics. Dr. Malik serves as Deputy Director and Head of the Intelligent Systems Group at the School of Computing and Creative Technologies, and brings extensive experience in both research and the practical application of modern technologies in data security. In his lecture, he shared specific examples of how HPC is used in forensic analysis across both the industrial and public sectors, demonstrating how computational tools accelerate threat identification and improve the efficiency of incident investigations.

The discussion also focused on the broader context of digital forensics in an era of rapidly growing data volumes and the need for real-time processing. The topic particularly resonated with experts involved in big data analysis, the development of analytical tools, and the protection of information systems. At the same time, the webinar provided a platform for the exchange of practical experiences among representatives from various sectors.

If you were unable to attend the event, a recording of the webinar is available online. We especially recommend it to those interested in the intersection of computing technology with cybersecurity, analytics, and digital investigation.

We thank all participants for their active involvement and look forward to future professional events that support the advancement of cutting-edge research and technologies both in Slovakia and on the international stage.

Since 2021, SHMÚ has been using the high-performance computing system NEC-LX to support its operations. The main tool for numerical weather prediction, which is run operationally on this HPC system, is the ALADIN model. We will present its various configurations and their use not only for weather forecasting purposes. Other computational systems are also operated on the HPC infrastructure, including climatological and hydrological models, as well as models for air quality analysis and forecasting—many of which rely on input from the ALADIN model. HPC also facilitates the processing of large-volume data and measurements from radars, satellites, and similar sources. The presentation will also touch on future possibilities for HPC use at SHMÚ, such as nowcasting, ensemble forecasting, and (potentially) AI/ML techniques. 

Speaker Mgr. Mária Derková, PhD., Slovak hydrometeorological institute
Date: 27 May, 2025, 10:00 CEST
Venue: online
Registration

Join us for the talk: The Use of HPC at the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute

Registered participants will receive an invitation to the MS Teams meeting a few days before the event.