Category: General

Handling digital forensics in large-scale environments demands immense computational resources. This session will demonstrate how HPC accelerates the forensic analysis of cyber incidents, supports large dataset examination, and enables faster threat identification. Use cases from industry and public sector investigations will be discussed.

Speaker: Dr. Mazhar Malik UWE Bristol, Faculty of Environment and Technology – Computer Science and Creative Technologies 
Date: 5 May, 2025, 11:00 CEST
Venue: online
Registration

Join us for the talk: Digital Forensics in the Era of Big Data: Leveraging HPC for Incident Analysis 

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

About the Speaker

Dr. Mazhar Malik is Associate Director and Head of Intelligent Systems at the School of Computing and Creative Technologies, where he has served since September 2022. He has extensive experience in IoT, cybersecurity, digital forensics, and artificial intelligence. Previously, he worked as Director for apprenticeship in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and as Associate Professor and Head of Computing and IT at the Global College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) in Oman. From 2015 to 2022, he led academic programmes including MSc Data Science, BSc Computer Security and Forensics, and BSc Computer Science with a focus on smart devices and AI, in collaboration with UWE-Bristol. He also contributes to programme accreditation with the British Computer Society and other international agencies. Dr. Malik is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Certified Information Technology Professional. He serves on editorial boards of several international journals and has chaired the Asia Pacific International Conference on Emerging Engineering since 2017. He also supervises doctoral research in cybersecurity and data analytics. 

As part of the program, which focused on evaluating the cluster's activities, planning future steps, and building partnerships, we had the opportunity to present our expert talk titled “Plastic Under the Supercomputer Microscope: More Accurate Production, Fewer Defects, More Innovation.”The presentation was delivered by Ing. Lucia Malíčková, PhD., Project Coordinator at the NSCC, who provided participants with an in-depth overview of how high-performance computing (HPC) can significantly support the development of new materials, optimize manufacturing processes, and reduce production errors.

The main goal of our participation was to highlight that HPC is no longer solely a tool for the academic sphere but is becoming increasingly accessible to industrial enterprises. When combined with advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence tools, HPC can also support the automation of production lines and the creation of digital twins—virtual models of manufacturing processes that enable more efficient management and planning.

The Slovak Plastics Cluster is one of the most active platforms for collaboration between companies, research organizations, and public authorities in the fields of plastics, composites, rubber, and rubber-processing technologies. We value the opportunity to be part of this community and to contribute innovative solutions powered by cutting-edge computational infrastructure.

Our presentation sparked a lively discussion among the cluster’s members and guests. Interest in the practical application of HPC technologies in business practice is growing, and at NSCC, we are ready to help companies navigate the possibilities of using these tools effectively—from free consultations and pilot projects to long-term support for digitalization initiatives and new product development.

We believe that events like these help build bridges between the scientific community and industry. High-performance computing can be a powerful driver of competitiveness for Slovak manufacturers—and at the National Supercomputing Centre, we are ready to be their technological partner on this journey.

We would like to thank the Slovak Plastics Cluster for the invitation and the inspiring event. We look forward to future joint activities and collaboration on projects that support innovative and sustainable solutions in industry.

We are proud to bridge research and practice and to co-create success stories of innovative Slovak companies.

You can read the full article in the SOPK Monthly, issue 4/2025, on page 41.

Together with SARIO, we express our intention to closely cooperate on:

• raising awareness about the possibilities of using high-performance computing and related technologies,
• supporting innovation in both companies and research organizations,
• developing the business environment in the field of digital technologies.

Our shared goal is to make computational resources and expert know-how accessible to the private sector – from early-stage startups to established industrial enterprises. Today, HPC technologies play a key role in accelerating product development, optimizing processes, reducing costs, and increasing competitiveness.

We are convinced that connecting technological infrastructure with investment and innovation policy creates a strong foundation for the development of Slovakia as a modern and technologically advanced country. We believe that cooperation with SARIO will contribute to an even more effective use of HPC potential in the Slovak economy.

Handling digital forensics in large-scale environments demands immense computational resources. This session will demonstrate how HPC accelerates the forensic analysis of cyber incidents, supports large dataset examination, and enables faster threat identification. Use cases from industry and public sector investigations will be discussed.

Speaker: Dr. Mazhar Malik UWE Bristol, Faculty of Environment and Technology – Computer Science and Creative Technologies 
Date: 5 May, 2025, 11:00 CEST
Venue: online
Registration

Join us for the talk: Digital Forensics in the Era of Big Data: Leveraging HPC for Incident Analysis 

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

About the Speaker

Dr. Mazhar Malik is Associate Director and Head of Intelligent Systems at the School of Computing and Creative Technologies, where he has served since September 2022. He has extensive experience in IoT, cybersecurity, digital forensics, and artificial intelligence. Previously, he worked as Director for apprenticeship in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and as Associate Professor and Head of Computing and IT at the Global College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) in Oman. From 2015 to 2022, he led academic programmes including MSc Data Science, BSc Computer Security and Forensics, and BSc Computer Science with a focus on smart devices and AI, in collaboration with UWE-Bristol. He also contributes to programme accreditation with the British Computer Society and other international agencies. Dr. Malik is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Certified Information Technology Professional. He serves on editorial boards of several international journals and has chaired the Asia Pacific International Conference on Emerging Engineering since 2017. He also supervises doctoral research in cybersecurity and data analytics. 

That’s why the goal of our lecture was to show students how HPC technologies can practically support innovation in business—across various sectors, from manufacturing and healthcare to energy and the automotive industry. The lecture also included an open discussion, during which we explored with the students specific ways HPC can be applied—ranging from optimizing production processes and predictive modeling of consumer behavior to developing sustainable products. We also shared case studies demonstrating how HPC gives companies a competitive edge—whether through cost savings, reduced time requirements, or improved output quality.

We’re very pleased to see the students’ active interest in modern technologies and their connection to business. We believe that expert lectures like this can help young people better understand current trends, broaden their horizons, and gain inspiration for their further studies or future career paths.

We’re very pleased to see the students’ active interest in modern technologies and their connection to business. We believe that expert lectures like this can help young people better understand current trends, broaden their horizons, and gain inspiration for their further studies or future career paths.

The Devana supercomputer can handle over 800 trillion operations per second. What would take a regular laptop the entire summer, Devana can process in a single night. This computing power is already being practically applied in scientific research, industrial simulations, artificial intelligence, and the development of new technologies without the need for physical testing.

Supercomputers can be used to solve tasks across a wide range of fields – from physics, chemistry, and bioinformatics, to materials science, medicine, and diagnostics, all the way to advanced industrial simulations. This computing power supports companies in optimizing production, developing new products, and implementing elements of Industry 4.0. Real-world examples speak clearly: optimization of CFD computations for the company SharkAero anomaly detection to prevent problem gambling in collaboration with Codium or named entity recognition in transcribed speech using synthetic data at Nettle These applications demonstrate that high-performance computing has practical use not only in science but also in real industrial and societal context.

We provide our services through a “one-stop-shop” approach – offering both companies and academic institutions access to computing power, expert consultations, training, online courses, and the implementation of pilot projects. At the same time, we connect Slovak entities with supercomputing centers across Europe through EuroHPC JU calls. The presentation for SARIO also included a vision of how Slovakia can effectively leverage this infrastructure to strengthen its competitiveness – not just as a place where innovations are implemented, but as a center of research and development where innovations are actually created.

During our presentation, we emphasized that computing infrastructure like Devana significantly shortens development cycles and reduces costs. Where physical prototypes were once necessary, realistic simulations now take place – whether in automotive aerodynamics, crash testing, new material design, or drug development. The results are clear: faster development, fewer errors, more efficient production, and a lower environmental footprint.

By combining technological infrastructure with investment policy, an attractive environment is created for both domestic and international partners. This positions Slovakia to become a leader in digital innovation in Central Europe. The Devana supercomputer and the National Competence Centre for HPC are not just projects for the academic community – they are ready to actively engage with the real economic and industrial landscape. 

A session dedicated to the future of microprocessor architectures also drew significant attention, with experts presenting the latest development trends, hardware challenges, and the importance of investing in European-designed solutions. In the afternoon, discussions shifted toward the development of the application ecosystem, focusing on how to create an environment where research and innovation can fully leverage supercomputing capabilities.

The second day focused on several important topics — particularly human resources, compute capacity sharing, and security. We were pleased to see a strong emphasis on talent development and the support of young researchers, which is also a key priority for us. Another highlight was the session on quantum initiatives and their connection to supercomputing, as this is a topic that will become increasingly relevant in the coming years.

The third day featured presentations of real-world applications of HPC technologies and provided space for live demonstrations. The Demo Lab was one of the most engaging parts of the entire summit: supercomputing centers showcased their solutions, demonstrated computational models, and engaged in discussions with participants about specific challenges. Equally inspiring were the meetings with representatives of user communities and the presentations of upcoming research challenges.

As part of the EuroHPC Summit, two meetings were also held within the EuroCC project. The first one focused on discussions with our project team, where we talked about the future direction of the project, our goals, and planned activities. It was both a pleasant and productive meeting that helped align expectations and share updates on our current progress.

The second meeting took place within the Central European working group, where we exchanged experiences with representatives from neighboring countries’ national centers and discussed specific challenges, opportunities, and forms of collaboration. Sharing best practices and ideas in this way is always highly valuable for us, and we’re glad to see this group actively growing and evolving.

Participating in the EuroHPC Summit was a truly inspiring experience for us. We explored the latest trends in HPC, AI, and quantum technologies, met with experts from across Europe, and established new connections that could lead to exciting collaborations. We’re glad to have been part of the discussion on the future of supercomputing in Europe — and we’re already looking forward to the next edition.

Photo: EuroHPC

We discussed how supercomputing technologies could be used to support research in agriculture, food production, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The conversation also touched on education and the training of a new generation of experts, as we explored ways to provide students and research teams with access to real-world data and computational models.

A shared interest of both parties is to explore ways in which high-performance computing infrastructure can streamline data processing, provide new insights into current challenges in agriculture, and expand opportunities for both research and the practical application of results. 

We agreed to formalize our collaboration through a memorandum and to provide SPU with access to the Devana supercomputer, enabling the university’s research teams—who are already working on interesting projects—to make use of its capabilities.

Venovali sme sa najmä témam spojeným s energetikou, obnoviteľnými zdrojmi a životným prostredím – a tomu, ako môže spracovanie veľkého množstva dát pomôcť pri efektívnejšom plánovaní, rozhodovaní či vývoji inovatívnych riešení.

We also discussed how joint projects could contribute to education and support the younger generation of professionals. Working with real data, simulations, and modern technologies offers students and young experts a valuable opportunity to expand their knowledge and gain hands-on experience that can help them thrive in the rapidly changing world of energy and environmental science.

Both sides expressed interest in identifying specific areas where our collaboration could grow — whether in research, development, or educational activities. The discussions reflected a strong interest in innovation and openness to technology, creating a solid foundation for a meaningful partnership. We agreed to continue our cooperation and to facilitate access to the Devana supercomputer.

This collaboration is very important to us — it represents a significant step toward innovation in the field of sustainable energy and opens up new opportunities for regional development as well as for supporting a talented younger generation.