EU-ASEAN HPC Expert Study

The 2nd EU-ASEAN High Performing Computing (HPC) Coordination Group Meeting took place in Luxembourg from 29 to 30 November 2019, hosted by the European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) and supported by the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI). It followed the 1st EU-ASEAN HPC CG meeting which took place in March in Singapore.

   2nd EU-ASEAN HPC Coordination Group (Nov. 29-30, 2019)

Held at the Neümunster Abbey, the event recorded the progress made since the first meeting in Singapore and the 9th EU-ASEAN Science and Technology dialogue held in June 2019, in Bali, Indonesia.

Dr Pierrick Fillon-Ashida, ASEAN Desk Officer, European Commission DG RTD, and Dr Putchong Uthayopas, Co-Chair ASEAN HPC Task Force, highlighted the strong and growing relations between the EU and ASEAN in the area of science and technology, acknowledged the support of E-READI in facilitating this cooperation, and emphasised forthcoming opportunities for ASEAN-EU collaboration on HPC.

It was also an important moment for me as it was the occasion to present the final outcomes of the HPC Mapping study I was mandated to conduct as EU HPC Expert. This study and the associated report [1], made in collaboration with the ASEAN HPC Expert Dr. Idris F. Sulaiman, aimed at providing an up-to-date overview of HPC capabilities within both regions while surveying potential research collaboration on priority areas, policy orientations and human capital development initiatives.

Table of content of the report (112 pages)

  • Chapter 1 : Introduction
    • EU-ASEAN Cooperation on Science and Technology under E-READI
    • Scope and objective of the EU-ASEAN HPC Study
    • Methodological approach
    • Organization of the document
  • Chapter 2 : Overview of the international HPC landscape in the Exascale race
    • HPC Strategy in US
    • HPC Strategy in China
    • HPC Strategy in Japan
    • HPC Strategy in Australia
    • HPC strategy in EU and ASEAN Member states
  • Chapter 3 : Overview of the European HPC Strategy
    • The European HPC Ecosystem
    • The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU)
    • Centres of Excellence in Computing Applications (CoEs)
    • Other European HPC projects open for International collaborations
  • Chapter 4 : Analysis of ASEAN HPC capabilities, related research infrastructures & domain expertise
    • Brunei Darussalam, the Nation of
    • Cambodia, Kingdom of
    • Indonesia, Republic of
    • Lao PDR
    • Malaysia, Federation of
    • Myanmar, Republic of the Union of
    • Philippines, Republic of
    • Singapore, Republic of
    • Thailand, Kingdom of
    • Vietnam, Socialist Republic of
  • Chapter 5 : EU-ASEAN Past Links and Current Collaborations
    • Selected set of collaborative projects
    • Example of Multilateral and Bilateral Past/Current Collaborations between ASEAN and EU Institutions
  • Chapter 6 : Analysis of the identified joint priority application areas
    • Software and Application Domain Needs
    • Sectoral and joint priority areas with societal impact matching AMS priority and interest for a collaboration within E-READI
  • Chapter 7 : Cross Analysis with EU pools for Training
    • Priority domains to tackle during user-oriented training sessions
    • Priority domains to tackle during HPC-staff oriented training sessions
    • Overview of the HPC training delivered in Europe
    • Feedback on the general training strategy within AMS
    • Human capacity development program
  • Chapter 8 : Suggested Policy and Governance for Regional HPC Resource Sharing
    • Governance Model
    • Shared HPC facility system specifications
    • Connectivity aspects between the AMS and toward EU and the GEANT network
    • Gender dimension in HPC core R&D, management and support staff as well as HPC user/researcher development program
  • Chapter 9 : Cross Analysis with EU pools for Staff and Support services
  • Chapter 10 : Conclusion, Summary of challenges and Recommended Actions
  • APPENDIX A:
    • Identified ASEAN research infrastructures contacted and relevant for the synergy analysis with EU Centre of Excellence
  • APPENDIX B:
    • E-READI Survey
  • APPENDIX C:
    • Upcoming ASEAN International Events tied to HPC

This event was organised back-to-back with several strategic meetings (including a visit to our Petascale HPC facility at the Belval Campus, and the participation of the ASEAN scientists and experts in the specific field of seismic, climate and weather and bio-informatics at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre from 2-5 December 2019).

  1. S. Varrette and I. F. Sulaiman, “EU-ASEAN High Performance Computing (HPC) Study Expert Mapping of ASEAN policy orientations and related HPC research infrastructures,” European Union - Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument" (E-READI), Dec. 2019.