ETP4HPC and PRACE join forces at EXDCI HPC Workshop in Rome

From 29th to 30th September 2015, the city of Rome will be the venue of a joint HPC workshop organised by the recently launched project titled European eXtreme Data and Computing Initiative (EXDCI). For the first time PRACE, ETP4HPC, the Centres of Excellence (CoE) and the FETHPC projects come together in a single event, the aim of which is to understand the working of and create a basis for the co-ordination of the entire European HPC ecosystem.

ETP4HPC will hold its General Assembly in conjunction with the EXDCI HPC workshop. All Centres of Excellence (CoE) will present their objectives followed by a presentation of PRACE and ETP4HPC. The second day will start with a short introduction of the EXDCI support action, by the coordinator Sergi Girona, and continue with short presentations of each of the recently funded FETHPC projects. One of the main highlights of this event will be a speech byPanagiotis Tsarchopoulos, Project Officer for EXDCI at the European Commission. The idea of gathering the main bodies and projects active in the HPC ecosystem is to find synergies and build together a shared HPC vision for Europe.

“With EXDCI we envisage to co-ordinate the HPC research infrastructure to provide services, a technology supply chain, and HPC applications to support and strengthen European leadership in industry, science and society.”, says Sergi Girona, coordinator of EXDCI.

About EXDCI

EXDCI’s objective is to coordinate the development and implementation of a common strategy for the European HPC Ecosystem. The two most significant HPC bodies in Europe, PRACE and ETP4HPC, join their expertise in this 30-month project with a budget of € 2.5 million, starting from September 2015. EXDCI aims to support the road-mapping, strategy-making and performance-monitoring activities of the ecosystem, i.e.:

• Producing and aligning roadmaps for HPC Technology and HPC Applications
• Measuring the implementation of the European HPC strategy
• Building and maintaining relations with other international HPC activities and regions
• Supporting the generation of young talent as a crucial element of the development of European HPC

EXDCI will complement the Horizon 2020 calls and projects in the achievement of a globally competitive HPC Ecosystem in Europe. Following the vision of the European Commission in HPC, this ecosystem is based on three pillars: HPC Technology Provision, HPC Infrastructure and HPC Application Resources.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 671558.