Virtual laboratories

With the aim of boosting innovation in High Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing, FCT is promoting three virtual laboratories.

HPCvLAB - HPC virtual laboratory

The HPC Virtual Laboratory - HPCvLAB - provides the Competence Centers with a package of HPC computing resources for training potential future users and thus developing their skills and mission within the scope of the RNCA and/or EuroCC2 project. This project uses resources from the INCD and Deucalion operational centers. 5 competence centers in Vila Real, Aveiro, Covilhã, Lisbon and Faro are partners in this initiative. This initiative is aligned with the mission of the Advanced Computing Services and the EuroCC2 project. Interested parties should contact one of these centers and request free access to HPC resources, with the necessary support to learn how to use and take advantage of these resources.

HPCvLAB registration

AIvLAB - Artificial Intelligence Virtual Laboratory

AIvLAB emerged in 2024 from a partnership between FCT, the HPC-UÉ center and the BigData@UÉ Laboratory. This virtual AI lab's mission is to boost the AI, Data Science and Big Data communities, and as of 2025 it has easy access to the Deucalion platform, promoting tool experimentation and supporting HPC and AI training. In line with the mission of advanced computing services and the EuroCC2 project, this initiative simplifies access to Artificial Intelligence technologies. Deucalion is a machine managed by FCT and installed at the University of Minho, with computational partitions capable of High Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) work, including machine learning algorithms.

AIvLAB registration

QUANTUMvLAB - Virtual Quantum Computing Laboratory

The need to disseminate and understand Quantum Computing motivated the installation of a quantum simulator on the ARM partition of the DEUCALION supercomputer in 2025, in close collaboration between CNCA, INESC TEC, Fujitsu, INL and IST-UL.
In order to bring more users from the quantum computing community to this new simulator, in April 2025 FCT approved the creation of another virtual laboratory, which will join HPCvLAB and AIvLAB: the Quantum Computing Virtual Laboratory - QUANTUMvLAB.

Registration for QUANTUMvLAB