High-Performance Computing (HPC) brings together very high-power computing resources capable of solving extremely complex problems. It is at the heart of innovation and major advances. This course presents the theoretical background needed to tackle these issues.
Next sessions
Date: from XXX, 2025 to XXX, 2025
Deadline for registration: 15 days before the starting date of each training
Before signing up, you may wish to report us any particular constraints (schedules, health, unavailability…) at the following e-mail address : training@cerfacs.fr
Description
The use of high-performance computing has become a central issue in solving tomorrow’s problems. It covers a wide range of sectors, from health, the ecological transition and climate change to financial risks, and is a strategic resource for Europe’s future. Access to the European Union’s HPC aid and resources available to SMEs requires a minimum of knowledge.
Scientific content
Cette formation en ligne présente les concepts fondamentaux du calcul haute performance. Le contenu du cours est divisé en 3 semaines consécutives
This online course introduces the fundamental concepts of high-performance computing. The course content is divided into 3 consecutive weeks:
week 1: Introduction to HPC
week 2: Supercomputer architecture
week 3: Parallel programming techniques
week 4: Introduction to IA and HPC
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the challenges of HPC.
- Identify the usefulness of HPC for a research or industrial project.
- Give recommendations on how to benefit from HPC capabilities.
Organization
This is a fully online training session. It is divided into 7 consecutive weeks, based on learning activities delivered each week.
- Week 1 to week 4 require around 2 to 3 hours of work per week. Learning activities are released on Monday of each week and you have 7 days to complete each week's activities. The 3 hours of work can be distributed over the week, depending on your schedule.
- A 1 hour live interactive session will hold during week XXX. This live session will deal with an applicative case. This live session will also be recorded.
- Last week is dedicated to revising and a final exam, leading to a certificate of learning.
Our pedagogical principles
All our learning sessions are built upon evidence-based principles from cognitive psychology and learning research:
- concepts first: the course is focused on conceptual understanding of the meaning of equations and how they apply in practical cases (Van Heuvelen, 1991).
- active learning: the course is organized around activities especially designed to make participants interact between each other, involving a deep processing of the scientific content previously shown in short videos (Salmon, 2013).
- long-term retention and transfer: because you need to apply what you will learn during this session in the future and in various contexts, our courses are designed using the 10 laboratory-tested principles drawn from cognitive psychology (Halpern and Hakel, 2003).
Be prepared to be engaged and to interact with a community sharing a common goal: learning the scientific content of this course.
Teaching methods
The training is an alternation of theoretical presentations and practical work. Multiple choice questions allow a continuous evaluation.
Requirements
Although this course is not aimed at computer scientists and experts, you should have some knowledge of computer science and algorithms. A good command of spoken and written English is also essential for this course.
To check that the prerequisites have been met, you must complete the following questionnaires: https://forms.gle/Tj9SFiYcemnHjkc56. You must obtain at least 75% correct answers in order to be allowed to take this course before registering here!
Prices
This training course, financed as part of the European EuroCC2 project, is free of charge but reserved for employees of companies that are members of the European Union. It normally costs €480 excluding VAT. However, a deposit of €200 is required to register. This sum will be returned to you at the end of the course if your participation has been effective. If not, it will be retained as compensation for the damage caused by leaving people unnecessarily on the waiting list.
Evaluation of learning
A final exam will be conducted during the training.
Referent teachers
Laure BOURGOIS, Engineer-trainer specialising in AI, INRIA
Benoist GASTON, HPC Engineer, CRIANN
Joeffrey LEGAUX, Research Engineer, CERFACS
Jean-Christophe JOUHAUD, Senior Researcher, CERFACS
