The National Competence Centres in the Framework of EuroHPC (EuroCC) project started on September 1, and as part of it the Croatian national high-performance computing competence centre will be established, the Srce University Computing Centre has said.
The goal of the project is to establish a network of national HPC competence centres in 33 member states of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), Srce said.
The entire project is worth €56 million, and the Croatian part of the project in the next two years is worth €800,000.
During the project, a consortium of Croatian institutions will establish a national HPC competence centre, where end-users from science and higher education, industry and public administration will gain access to innovative solutions adapted to the degree of maturity of the national HPC infrastructure, the press release said.
Srce is the leader of the national consortium and a partner on the project.
Science and Education Ministry assumed the responsibility for the implementation of the EuroHPC JU in the Republic of Croatia, Srce said, adding that 50% of the eligible costs of the EuroCC project will be financed from the state budget, while the remaining 50% will be financed by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 programme.
Joining other European HPC competence centres will ensure the integration of Croatia into the European research area and the use of non-repayable funding from EU programmes for the development of research and innovation, underscored Ivan Maric, deputy director of Srce and head of the establishment of the Croatian national HPC competence centre.
Slaven Mihaljevic from the Ministry of Science and Education, who is a representative of Croatia in the EuroHPC JU governing board, said that participation in the EuroHPC JU was part of Croatia’s strategic efforts to strengthen the research, development and innovation capacity of research organisations and to increase quality, international cooperation, working conditions and the attractiveness of the national research system, which would contribute to reducing the brain drain.
Through the establishment of national competence centres, users from EU countries will gain access to a portfolio of services adapted to the national needs of the science and academic community, public administration and industry. Competence centres will become central places for the coordination of national initiatives and will facilitate national users’ access to European HPC competences and opportunities in different industrial sectors and branches.
(€1 = HRK 7.5)
