Project final review

The HPC SPECTRA consortium will gather at the University of Stuttgart – High Performance Computing Center (HLRS) for the 2026 face-to-face meeting. Our five work package leaders will present project updates from the past year and outline strategic plans for wrapping up the project. This meeting will be a valuable opportunity for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and alignment of efforts to advance HPC SPECTRA’s objectives and bring the project to a close.

The 2026 summer school is sponsored by various organizations including Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre (Pawsey) in Australia, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC), the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) in Europe, the RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) in Japan, along with other institutions in South Africa and the U.S. The summer school will familiarize the best students in computational sciences with major state-of-the-art aspects of HPC and Big Data Analytics for a variety of scientific disciplines, catalyze the formation of networks, provide advanced mentoring, facilitate international exchange and open up further career options.

The last Train the Trainers (TTT) workshop covers key topics, including an introduction to the HPC Skill Tree, its structure, and how information is organised within it. Participants will also learn how to edit and adapt content within the framework. The main focus of the session is hands-on interaction with the Skill Tree and its individual skills. To make the most of the workshop, participants are encouraged to bring a course they currently teach and would like to align with the Skill Tree Framework.

Our project lead, Simon Wong, joined the session on Towards EuroCC 3 / CASTIEL 3: Collaboration with the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy (EVITA) at the CASTIEL2 All-Hands Meeting. It was exciting to see how EVITA will carry forward and expand SPECTRA’s mission to build a sustainable future for HPC training. At the same time, EVITA will also extend collaboration with NCCs—an important step toward strengthening the HPC skills ecosystem in Europe.

The Train the Trainers (TTT) workshop introduces fundamental topics, including an overview of the HPC Skill Tree, its structure, and how information is organised within it. Additionally, participants learn how to edit and modify content within the framework. The core focus of the session will be hands-on engagement with the Skill Tree and its individual skills. To maximise the learning experience, participants are encouraged to bring a course they currently teach and wish to adapt to the Skill Tree Framework as part of their preparation.

The summer school will familiarize the best students in computational sciences with major state-of-the-art aspects of HPC and Big Data Analytics for a variety of scientific disciplines, catalyse the formation of networks, provide advanced mentoring, facilitate international exchange and open up further career options.

The CASTIEL2 project launched the HPC in Europe Portal — Europe’s unified gateway to supercomputing. HPC SPECTRA contributed to the development of the training platform, featuring a pan-European training environment.

This meeting represents an important moment of alignment and collaboration between the HPC SPECTRA and EVITA projects. With the close connection, the teams are actively working to ensure a smooth handover of project outcomes and to foster continuity between initiatives.

Poster and Bird of Feather session

At EuroHPC Summit 2025, HPC SPECTRA presented a poster highlighting its main objectives and recent progress, including the development of the HPC Skills Tree and contributions to the International HPC Summer School.

HPC SPECTRA has received very positive feedback during its mid-term project review at EuroHPC JU in Luxembourg. Our progress and results were evaluated as exceptional, and the project was recognised as being in great shape. We are excited for what’s coming in year two!

The Train the Trainers (TTT) workshop introduces fundamental topics, including an overview of the HPC Skill Tree, its structure, and how information is organised within it. Additionally, participants learn how to edit and modify content within the framework. The core focus of the session will be hands-on engagement with the Skill Tree and its individual skills. To maximise the learning experience, participants are encouraged to bring a course they currently teach and wish to adapt to the Skill Tree Framework as part of their preparation.

The HPC SPECTRA consortium gathered at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center for our first face-to-face meeting of 2025. Over two days, our five work package leaders presented project updates and strategic plans for the year ahead, fostering discussions that will shape the project’s roadmap. This meeting provided a valuable opportunity for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and alignment of efforts to advance HPC SPECTRA’s objectives.

The International HPC Summer School (IHPCSS) 2025 will take place from July 6–11, 2025, in Lisbon, Portugal, providing an opportunity for advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scientists to enhance their expertise in high-performance computing (HPC). Application deadline: January 31, 2025. For further details and application information, visit IHPCSS 2025 website.

The Train the Trainers (TTT) workshop introduces fundamental topics, including an overview of the HPC Skill Tree, its structure, and how information is organised within it. Over the course of three hours, participants explore the structure of the HPC Skill Tree, learn techniques for adapting course content, and engage in hands-on exercises to integrate skills into their teaching materials. This workshop offers a valuable opportunity for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the refinement of HPC education.

Dr. Kevin Lüdemann presented the HPC Skill Tree at NHR-Verein, NHR-Alliance, highlighting its potential to transform HPC training. This structured framework offers a streamlined approach to curriculum development, ensuring that educational programs align with the most essential skills in the field.

The International HPC Summer School 2024 in Kobe, Japan, has come to a successful close. Over the past days, more than 80 students from five continents explored a diverse range of HPC topics and computational science while participating in networking and mentoring programs. A special thanks to RIKEN for hosting and organizing an outstanding program that fostered learning, collaboration, and global connections in the HPC community.

Our project leader Simon Wong delivered an insightful presentation on the HPC SPECTRA project at the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) booth during ISC High Performance 2024. His talk highlighted the project’s objectives, ongoing developments, and its role in advancing high-performance computing. Thank you to everyone who joined the session and engaged in discussions on the future of HPC!

The HPC SPECTRA Kick-Off Meeting took place on February 27th in Dublin, marking the official launch of the project. Representatives from our partner institutions shared their strategies and expectations, setting a strong foundation for collaboration.