The 5th edition of the Advanced Computing Call is now open

The FCT has opened applications for the 5th edition of Call Advanced Computing Projects (CPCA). This Call provide computational resources to national scientific innovation projects, promoting research in areas of great impact and relevance, and was launched by FCCN, FCT's digital services. To support applicants, an initial online information session will be held on September 24 at 12:00 p.m. Those interested can register via the link: Information session via Colibri-Zoom.

In addition to applications for A0 and A1 access, which extend until September 2025, this edition brings new features for A2 and A3 access, with two application periods: the first until October 10, 2024, and the second phase in 2025. The first phase, exclusively via the “fast track,” is intended for projects that have been previously evaluated in Calls . More details and criteria on the “fast track” and “full track” can be found in CallNotice of the Call .

This edition of CPCA will provide access to three important high-performance computing platforms: MareNostrum 5, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, and Deucalion, a state-of-the-art Portuguese supercomputer. These supercomputers, both funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), allow for greater scalability and performance in various areas of research and innovation. Researchers can also use the HPC and Cloud services of INCD (National Distributed Computing Infrastructure), ideal for projects with flexible storage and computing needs.

The Call more than 560 million CPU core-hours. Applications will be accepted in all scientific areas using High Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computing, or Scientific Cloud Computing.

All researchers from national institutions, whether public or private, can submit applications to access computing resources in different types of access: A0 – Experimental access – aimed at users with no previous experience or for small-scale projects, up to 6 months; A1 – Development access – for medium-scale projects with more complex computing needs, up to 12 months; A2 – Regular access – for large-scale projects, for users experienced in HPC, AI, or Cloud, for 12 months; A3 – Larger access – for large-scale projects with high computational resource consumption and requiring infrastructure such as Deucalion or MareNostrum 5, for 12 months.

For further information, please visit the FCT website and consult the Calls page.

Applications must be submitted on the myFCT Platform. Results will be announced after approval by FCT, following the closure of each application period.