Results of the 3rd edition Call Advanced Computing Call

The third edition Call Advanced Computing Call achieved an approval rate of 86%, with 140 applications selected out of a total of 163 received. These figures represent a record number of projects approved compared to previous editions.

Engineering, Physics, and Chemistry are the three scientific areas that most frequently access these resources, although there is also a growing trend in the areas of Environment, Bioinformatics, and Sociology. The 140 approved projects represent access to 50 national institutions, 40 million CPU core hours, and 46,000 GPU hours allocated, with an estimated value of over €500,000.

The approved projects will be carried out on the platforms of the National Advanced Computing Network (RNCA), which offer high-performance computing (HPC), scientific cloud computing (SCC), or virtual research environments (VRE) resources:

• Navigator from LCA-UC (Laboratory of Advanced Computing at the University of Coimbra)
• Oblivion and Vision from HPC-UÉ (HPC Center at the University of Évora)
• Cirrus and Stratus from INCD (National Distributed Computing Infrastructure)

Beneficiaries have 6 or 12 months to implement HPC and SCC projects, or 24 months for VRE projects. Projects are divided into three types of access:

• A0 – Experimental Access, with 62 projects (100% approval)
• A1 – Preparatory/Development Access, with 47 projects (96% approval rate)
• A2 – Project/Regular Access, with 31 projects (60% approval)

In addition to the support provided by RNCA, there is also a European partnership, EuroHPC, which has Calls for access to European supercomputers, such as LUMI, Vega, and Meluxina.

The FCT promotes annual Calls Advanced Computing Projects, seeking to increase national and international competitiveness in science and technology, as well as contributing to innovation and knowledge transfer. The FCCN, a unit of the FCT, is responsible for promoting the development of the RNCA by coordinating national advanced computing resources, encouraging cooperation between the various centers involved, and developing national and international partnerships with other entities.

For more information on Advanced Computing, please visit the RNCA website or contact rnca@fccn.pt.