On 1 December, techUK will be hosting an exciting session exploring the future of compute and international collaboration alongside international leaders across high-performance computing (HPC) and large-scale computing (LSC).
This session will convene international leaders to explore how to challenge barriers limiting international collaboration as advancements in compute infrastructure unlock further opportunities for research and innovation.
Across two core themes of international collaboration and business innovation, we will deep-dive into how we can support collaboration across government, industry and academia, alongside addressing challenges such as skills, funding and access. In doing so, we will explore how to fully harness the social and economic benefits of compute in the coming years.
Speakers include:
- Ben Bennett, Director - HPC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (United Kingdom and Europe)
- Prof Tan Tin Wee, Chief Executive, NSCC (Singapore)
- Nicolas Tonello, CEO, Constelcom (United Kingdom)
- Mark Wilkinson, National Director, STFC DiRAC HPC Facility (United Kingdom)
- Sean McGuire, Lead for Higher Education and Research, NVIDIA (Europe)
- Oliver Grant, Senior Digital Scientist, Department for Culture, Media and Sport - Future of Compute Review (United Kingdom)
- Damien Lecarpentier, Director, Business Incubator, CSC - IT Center for Science (Finland)
- Joel Martin, Chief Digital Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada (Canada)
- Yuichi Kojima, Head of HPC business, NEC Deutschland GmbH (Germany)
- David Snelling, Director of Advanced Compute, Fujitsu Center for Cognitive and Advanced Technologies
Why is compute important?
techUK has welcomed the UK government’s future of compute review, launched during the London Tech Week, that foresees a world where nearly every aspect of business and research is transformed by the rapid growth in computing capabilities.
At the heart of this we need to grow the UK’s large-scale computing capacity and improve access for businesses and research organisations of all sizes to leading-edge systems. This could include through international partnerships such as the US’s DOE INCITE Program, as well as investment in domestic capabilities through organisations like the Hartree Centre and NQCC.
This session will be split into two panels that you can see below
Session one: Strengthening international collaboration in the future of compute through trade and agreements
The development of high-performance computing (HPC) and other compute infrastructure represents a significant scientific advance with the potential to help countries around the world tackle some of shared challenges in areas like climate change and drug discovery. To fully harness the global potential of the future of compute, we need to create a policy and regulatory ecosystem in which these technologies can work together, boosting and complementing each other. International collaboration plays an important role in accelerating progress and ensuring large-scale computing will deliver benefits to all.
However, global supply chains challenges, regulatory divergence, restrictions on access to government data, and a lack of commitments to support innovation and science on international level hinder cross-border collaborative partnerships and innovation in this space.
The panel will explore:
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How we can drive innovation and commercialisation of new compute technologies through international collaboration .
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How we can enable further cooperation on shared research, as well as other areas of shared interest such skills and talent and facilitating greater collaboration between companies and governments.
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The role multilateral fora and bilateral trade agreements can play to further cooperation in the future of compute.
Session two: The role of the tech sector in developing access to compute
This panel will explore how the tech sector is promoting international collaboration around compute. We will showcase examples where international collaboration has directly supported the development of high-performance computing, as well as navigating how to best promote collaboration across nations, and how to support start-up and SME ecosystems develop access to compute. Finally, we will also identify areas where collaboration will be key, such as using compute to tackle international challenges such as climate change
The panel will explore:
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What international examples are available that show government and industry working together to open access to compute
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How can we encourage international SME access to compute?
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What key challenges might be hindering businesses leveraging international compute
Laura Foster
Laura is techUK’s Associate Director for Technology and Innovation.
