With growing demand for transcription/AI services on Interactive HPC – UCloud, Speech Analyzer has been added to the platform.
Speech Analyzer is a specialised application built on top of Label Studio, optimised for dialogue analysis. It enables users to label, edit, and annotate speech transcriptions generated by the integrated Transcriber engine. It also allows you to share tasks with collaborators.
Join us for three new and free online workshops to explore how these tools can transform your work. Discover AI Applications on DeiC Interactive HPC – UCloud
Workshop 1:
Transcribing and editing audio transcriptions with Transcriber and Speech Analyzer apps
Date: 22 May 2025
Time: 13:00 – 15:00 (CET)
Location: Online, via Zoom (link TBA)
Join us for a hands-on workshop where we guide you through the complete pipeline of transcribing audio files from speech to text and editing and classifying transcription segments.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
Use Transcriber for transcribing audio/video files. Transcriber is based on Open AI’s Whisper language model. The app can transcribe speech audio to text in various formats and uses the WhisperX package to perform speaker recognition.
Navigate the new, simple, drag and drop Transcriber user interface to make it easier for you to use AI to transcribe audio files.
Edit and classify the transcriptions with Speech Analyzer. Speech Analyzer is an application built on top of Label Studio, specifically optimized for dialogue analysis. It enables you to label, edit, and annotate transcriptions generated using Transcriber.
Perform a comprehensive dialogue analysis on UCloud involving transcribing audio files using Transcriber, followed by transcription analysis with Speech Analyzer.
All workflows will be executed inside a UCloud project environment with access to GPU resources.
Target audience: Researchers across all Departments, particularly Digital Humanities and Social Science, Students, AI interested.
Join us for a hands-on workshop where we guide you through two different AI based workflows, involving ChatUI and CVAT apps.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
Use Chat UI as a flexible interface for hosting of various LLM models, and interact via a chat or API environment.
Use ChatUI for semantic search in a knowledge base.
Use CVAT as a powerful annotation tool, including image classification, object detection, semantic and instance segmentation, and video / 3D annotations.
Use advanced CVAT features including auto-annotation, algorithmic assistance, management and analytics.
All workflows will be executed inside a UCloud project environment with access to GPU resources.
Target audience: Researchers across all fields, particularly transport, robotics, digital humanities, social sciences, machine learning and students.
Fine-Tuning and Deploying Large Language Models with NeMo Framework and Triton Inference Server
Date: 28 May 2025
Time: 13:00 – 15:00 (CET)
Location: Online, via Zoom (link TBA)
Join us for a hands-on workshop where we guide you through the complete pipeline of fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) for specialized tasks such as medical question-answering!
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
Prepare and preprocess open-source datasets for fine-tuning.
Apply Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning (PEFT) using LoRA with NVIDIA NeMo Framework.
Deploy optimized LLMs using NVIDIATriton Inference Server and TensorRT-LLM.
Generate a synthetic Q&A dataset using Label Studio connected to a live inference backend.
Fine-tune and evaluate your customized LLM for domain-specific applications.
All workflows will be executed inside a UCloud project environment with access to GPU resources.
Target audience: Machine learning practitioners, researchers, and engineers interested in LLM customization, domain adaptation, or scalable model deployment.
DeiC Interactive HPC provides researchers at Danish universities with access to a variety of AI applications on UCloud that enable them to accelerate their research through powerful and secure computational tools.
Through online workshops the DeiC Interactive HPC Consortium will introduce both new and experienced users to DeiC Interactive HPC/UCloud’s AI app portfolio.
The sessions are designed to equip researchers and students with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively harness DeiC Interactive HPC/UCloud’s AI tools for their research.
Feel free to share with colleagues and peers who might benefit. See you there!
Yesterday, we were at First Hotel Grand Odense for the first DeiC Interactive HPC workshop of 2025
It was time to give each other a status on the developments and work done since our last consortium workshop in Rebild Bakker in the fall of 2024. Key topics included:
Branding and outreach
AI, teaching and UCloud workshops
Service development
Thanks to the SDU eScience Center for hosting such an engaging and insightful event! And a heartfelt thank you to all the participants who joined to discuss the key topics.
A special thanks is due to our guest speaker, head of DeiC Data Management Anne Sofie Fink for her enlightening talk on the FAIR principles and for exploring potential synergies between the DeiC DM services and the DeiC Interactive HPC service.
We look forward to continuing these important conversations and collaborations in the future! Our next consortium workshop will take place in the fall 2025, organized by Center for Humanities Computing.
The DeiC Interactive HPC consortium is thrilled to announce that the service, powered by the UCloud software, has reached another significant milestone: 15,000 users. This achievement underscores the service’s growing popularity and its pivotal role in advancing digital research through user-friendly supercomputing access.
Since its inception, DeiC Interactive HPC has been dedicated to providing researchers with seamless access to high-performance computing (HPC) resources. The service’s intuitive interface and capabilities have revolutionized the way researchers approach complex computational tasks, making HPC accessible to a broader audience.
DeiC Interactive HPC’s success is a testament to the collaborative efforts of the consortium that operates the service. Together, we have created an environment where researchers from diverse fields can leverage cutting-edge technology to drive innovation and discovery.
As DeiC Interactive HPC and UCloud continues to grow, we remain committed to enhancing the service’s features and expanding its reach. The goal is to empower even more researchers with the tools they need to tackle some of the most pressing scientific challenges of our time.
A new feature has been launched on the innovative UCloud platform, designed to provide a seamless and efficient learning experience for both educators and students. If you are teaching a course at a Danish University and would like to have a setup ready to use for students with all the necessary tools pre-installed and easy access to lectures and teaching materials, the new UCloud course feature is perfect for you.
Cloud-Based Learning: A virtual “lab” for your class
UCloud leverages the power of cloud computing to offer a robust and scalable environment for courses. The new UCloud course feature means that you can focus on teaching while UCloud handles the infrastructure, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted learning experience.
Whether you are teaching data science, machine learning, natural language processing or any other subject, UCloud supports a wide range of tools and applications. This flexibility allows you to integrate your preferred software and resources effortlessly.
“A course on UCloud is essentially like having a lab for the class. Everything needed is already installed and the students can easily choose the appropriate resources in terms of teaching materials and installation libraries,” says Dr. Federica Lo Verso, Computational Scientist at the SDU eScience Center and part of the Research Support Team.
Once the course is on UCloud, it can be found in the App Store in the section “Courses” under “Browse by category”.
An example of a “Course” selection is the one below which contains a course from AU. All the relevant software packages, notebooks, scripts etc. for the course are already ‘wrapped’ into the app, which allows students to access the full material quickly and seamlessly without having to install any software themselves.
For the full story about hosting courses on UCloud:
With 10,000 users, DeiC Interactive HPC has established itself as one of Europe’s most popular HPC facilities, thanks to an unprecedented democratisation of access to advanced computing resources. These resources, once reserved for specialised research fields and technically adept specialists, are now accessible to any researcher with a dataset and a vision.
Through a newly developed, simple, and graphical user interface, DeiC Interactive HPC, also known as UCloud, makes it easier than ever to gain interactive access to supercomputing. This approach reduces technical barriers and enhances research collaboration by offering shared, easily accessible virtual environments. As a result, DeiC Interactive HPC supports dynamic and interdisciplinary research, accelerating research processes and promoting innovation in fields ranging from bioinformatics to digital humanities.
Democratising Access to HPC
The trend towards more interactive use of technology, including HPC, reflects efforts to make the STEM field more inclusive and accessible, mirroring broader societal changes towards diversity and inclusion in technology and science. DeiC Interactive HPC’s user-friendly approach has attracted a broad spectrum of users, including those from nearly all Danish universities and individuals with varying levels of technical expertise, notably many students.
“We are proud to highlight the growing diversity among DeiC Interactive HPC users, a development that further distinguishes DeiC Interactive HPC from traditional HPC systems. We see continuous growth in user numbers and are now celebrating surpassing 10,000 users across a very broad spectrum of research disciplines, which is impressive in the HPC field. Of these users, 50% are students, reflecting DeiC Interactive HPC’s success in attracting new users and serving as a bridge to larger European HPC facilities,” says Professor Kristoffer Nielbo, representing Aarhus University in the DeiC Interactive HPC Consortium.
Research AreasStudents
By simplifying access to supercomputers, DeiC Interactive HPC democratises powerful data processing resources, enabling a wider range of researchers and academics to conduct innovative research without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with HPC. This inclusivity fosters scientific collaboration and creativity, enriching the HPC community with a diversity of perspectives and ideas.
“We continuously work to improve DeiC Interactive HPC with a democratic approach, using user feedback to ensure our focus is in the right place. This is also reflected in our new update – UCloud version 2 – which aims to increase efficiency and improve the user experience for researchers. It is part of our DNA as an interactive HPC facility to always keep the user in mind and develop apps and user interfaces based on user needs. Therefore, we encourage our users to reach out to us with their wishes and ideas,” says Professor Claudio Pica, representing the University of Southern Denmark in the DeiC Interactive HPC Consortium.
Did You Know
– that DeiC Interactive HPC provides resources for developing large AI language models through initiatives such as Danish Foundation Models (DFM) and the new Danish Language Model Consortium?
– that nearly 80 apps are available via UCloud’s App Store, including the Chat-GPT-like app, Chat-UI, and transcription tools Transcriber and Whisper Transcription?
– that 25% of users on Interactive HPC come from the Social Sciences & Humanities, a unique figure as HPC traditionally caters almost exclusively to Natural Science, Health/Life Science, and Engineering?
An All Danish and Highly Secure System
Despite its internationally sounding name, UCloud, DeiC Interactive HPC is part of the Danish HPC landscape, funded by Danish universities and the Ministry of Education and Research. The increased focus on developing a new generation of highly user-friendly applications means that researchers and other university staff can now use intuitive applications for transcribing sensitive data via DeiC Interactive HPC.
“DeiC Interactive HPC has already developed applications based on the same transcription technology found online and made them available in a secure environment through the UCloud platform. These transcription applications are just the beginning of a series of targeted secure applications that do not require prior experience, and we are always open to user input and ideas that arise from their unique needs but often prove beneficial to many,” says Lars Sørensen, Head of Digitalisation, representing Aalborg University and CLAAUDIA in the DeiC Interactive HPC Consortium.
By making advanced data processing more accessible to researchers from various disciplines, DeiC Interactive HPC helps break down the technical barriers that previously limited access to these resources. With an increasing number of students and new users from diverse backgrounds combined with continuous engagement in user-centred innovation, DeiC Interactive HPC not only supports the academic community but also plays a crucial role in promoting a more inclusive and productive research environment.
New usersUniversities
For further information and high resolution graphics, contact: Kristoffer Nielbo, Director of Center for Humanities Computing, Aarhus University, 26832608 kln@cas.au.dk
About DeiC Interactive HPC (UCloud)
UCloud offers access to advanced tools such as quantum simulation apps and H100 GPUs as well as applications aimed at data analysis and visualisation.
In data analysis, Python and Jupyter notebooks are particularly prominent, catering to the interactive, ad hoc, and data-centric workflows common in the field. These tools are highly valued for their user-friendliness in handling rapidly changing software environments and offer rich user interfaces, a significant advantage compared to traditional HPC setups, which can be more complex or less flexible.
Furthermore, the integration of tools such as Conda for managing software packages, Jupyter notebooks, Rstudio, Coder, and Dask for parallel computing significantly enhances the usability of HPC resources for interactive and on-demand data processing needs. These tools help bridge the gap between the hardware of complex HPC systems and the user-friendly software environments that data scientists require.
DeiC Interactive HPC revolutionerer tværfaglig forskning med brugervenlig adgang til supercomputing
Med 10.000 brugere har DeiC Interactive HPC cementeret sin position som en af Europas mest populære HPC-faciliteter, takket være en hidtil uset demokratisering af adgangen til avancerede computerressourcer. Disse ressourcer, som tidligere var forbeholdt specialiserede forskningsområder og teknisk kyndige specialister, er nu tilgængelige for enhver forsker med et dataset og en vision.
Gennem en nyudviklet, enkel og grafisk brugergrænseflade gør DeiC Interactive HPC, også kendt som UCloud, det nemmere end nogensinde før at få interaktiv adgang til supercomputing. Denne tilgang reducerer de tekniske barrierer og forbedrer samtidig mulighederne for forskningssamarbejde ved at tilbyde delte, lettilgængelige virtuelle miljøer. Således understøtter DeiC Interactive HPC dynamisk og tværfaglig forskning, som accelererer forskningsprocesser og fremmer innovation inden for alt fra bioinformatik til digital humaniora.
Demokratisering af adgang til HPC
Tendensen til mere interaktiv brug af teknologi, herunder HPC, afspejler bestræbelser på at gøre STEM-området mere inkluderende og tilgængeligt, hvilket igen afspejler en bredere samfundsmæssig forandring og udvikling i retning af diversitet og inklusion i teknologi og videnskab. DeiC Interactive HPC’s brugervenlige tilgang har tiltrukket et bredt spektrum af brugere, herunder brugere fra stort set alle Danmarks universiteter samt personer med forskellige niveauer af teknisk ekspertise – ikke mindst mange studerende.
“Vi er stolte over at fremhæve den voksende diversitet blandt brugerne af DeiC Interactive HPC, en udvikling der yderligere adskiller DeiC Interactive HPC fra de traditionelle HPC-systemer. Vi ser en kontinuerlig vækst i andelen af brugere og kan netop nu fejre, at vi har rundet 10.000 brugere fordelt på et meget bredt spektrum af forskningsdiscipliner, hvilket er imponerende i HPC-regi. Af disse brugere er 50% studerende, hvilket vidner om DeiC Interactive HPC’s succes med at tiltrække nye brugere og fungere som en brobygger til de større europæiske HPC-faciliteter,” udtaler professor Kristoffer Nielbo, der repræsenterer Aarhus Universitet i DeiC Interactive HPC-Konsortiet.
Research AreasStudents
Ved at forenkle brugernes adgang til supercomputere demokratiserer DeiC Interactive HPC adgangen til kraftfulde databehandlingsressourcer, hvilket gør det muligt for et større udvalg af forskere og akademikere at skabe innovativ forskning uden den stejle læringskurve, der traditionelt er forbundet med HPC. Denne inklusivitet fremmer ikke kun videnskabeligt samarbejde og kreativitet, men beriger også HPC-fællesskabet med en mangfoldighed af perspektiver og ideer.
“Vi arbejder kontinuerligt på at forbedre DeiC Interactive HPC, og vi gør det med en demokratisk tilgang, hvor vi anvender brugerfeedback til at sikre, at vores fokus er rette sted. Det afspejler sig også i vores nye opdatering – UCloud version 2- der har til formål at øge effektiviteten og forbedre brugeroplevelsen for forskerne. Det er en del af vores DNA som interaktiv HPC-facilitet, at vi hele tiden har brugeren for øje og udvikler apps og brugergrænseflade efter brugernes behov. Derfor opfordrer vi også vores brugere til at række ud til os med deres ønsker og ideer,” udtaler professor Claudio Pica, der repræsenterer Syddansk Universitet i DeiC Interactive HPC-Konsortiet.
Vidste du
– at DeiC Interactive HPC leverer ressourcer til udvikling af store AI sprogmodeller i form af initiativer som Danish Foundation Models (DFM) og det helt nye Dansk Sprogmodel Konsortium?
– at man via UCloud’s App Store kan finde næsten 80 apps, inklusiv den Chat-GPT-lignende app, Chat-UI, og transskriptionsværktøjerne Transcriber og Whisper Transcription?
– at hele 25% af brugerne på Interactive HPC stammer fra områderne Social Sciences & Humanities, hvilket er helt unikt, da HPC traditionelt henvender sig stort set udelukkende til Natural Science, Health/Life Science og Engineering?
Pæredansk og topsikret system
Til trods for sit internationalt klingende navn, UCloud, er DeiC Interactive HPC en del af det danske HPC-landskab, som er finansieret af de danske universiteter og Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet, og et øget fokus på udvikling af en ny generation af særdeles brugervenlige applikationer, betyder at forskere og andet universitetspersonale allerede nu kan bruge intuitive applikationer til transskription af følsomme data via DeiC Interactive HPC.
“DeiC Interactive HPC har allerede udviklet applikationer baseret på den samme transskriptionsteknologi, som man finder online, og gjort dem tilgængelige i et sikret miljø gennem UCloud-platformen. Disse transskriptionsapplikationer er blot begyndelsen på en serie af målrettede sikre applikationer, der ikke kræver forudgående erfaring, og vi er som altid åbne for brugernes input og ideer, som opstår af deres unikke behov, men som ofte viser sig, at være til gavn for mange,” udtaler digitaliseringschef Lars Sørensen, der repræsenterer Aalborg Universitet og CLAAUDIA i DeiC Interactive HPC-konsortiet.
Ved at gøre avanceret databehandling mere tilgængelig for forskere fra forskellige discipliner, hjælper DeiC Interactive HPC med at nedbryde de tekniske barrierer, der tidligere har begrænset adgangen til disse ressourcer. Med en stigende andel af studerende og nye brugere fra varierede baggrunde kombineret med kontinuerligt engagement i brugercentreret innovation, understøtter DeiC Interactive HPC ikke blot det akademiske samfund men spiller også en vigtig rolle i at fremme et mere inklusivt og produktivt forskningsmiljø.
New usersUniversities
For yderligere information og grafikker i høj opløsning, kontakt: Kristoffer Nielbo, Center for Humanities Computing, Aarhus University, 26832608 kln@cas.au.dk
Om DeiC Interactive HPC (UCloud)
UCloud tilbyder adgang til både avancerede værktøjer som kvantesimuleringsapps og H100 GPU’er såvel som applikationer rettet mod dataanalyse og visualisering.
Inden for dataanalyse er Python og Jupyter-notebooks især fremtrædende, da de imødekommer de interaktive, ad hoc og datacentriske arbejdsprocesser, der er almindelige i feltet. Disse værktøjer er højt værdsat for deres brugervenlighed i håndtering af hurtigt skiftende softwaremiljøer og tilbyder rige brugergrænseflader, hvilket er en betydelig fordel sammenlignet med traditionelle HPC-opsætninger, som kan være mere komplekse eller mindre fleksible.
Derudover forbedrer integrationen af værktøjer som Conda til styring af softwarepakker, Jupyter-notebooks, Rstudio, Coder og Dask til parallel computing væsentligt brugbarheden af HPC-ressourcer til interaktive og on-demand databehandlingsbehov. Disse værktøjer hjælper med at overbygge kløften mellem komplekse HPC-systemers hardware og de brugervenlige softwaremiljøer, som dataforskere har brug for.
Denmark has marked a significant milestone in computational research with the addition of 16 NVIDIA H100 GPUs to the DeiC Interactive HPC service, and 16 more are expected by the end of the year. The tender for the acquisition of the GPUs was awarded to Lenovo. This addition signifies a big leap forward for Danish researchers, who can now easily access the new GPUs through UCloud, and positions Denmark at the forefront of AI innovation. We recently had the privilege of talking with Dr. Valerio Rizzo, head of AI & SME at Lenovo’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) division, about the AI revolution that is currently taking place and Lenovo’s role in the production of the world’s most powerful hardware for AI.
Collaboration between Lenovo and NVIDIA
NVIDIA is the company behind the industry-leading graphics processing unit (GPU), H100, currently the most sought-after hardware for AI and used extensively by some of the biggest AI companies in the world, including OpenAI, Microsoft and Google. H100 is generally 2-3 times faster than the previous A100 generation, and an impressive 30 times faster for AI workloads such as large language models (LLM). The recently announced supercomputer, Gefion, by Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) will make use of the same technology.
In the past, Danish researchers had to either search abroad or pay commercial cloud providers expensive fees to use these powerful machines. However, since January this year the 16 H100 GPUs have been available via the DeiC Interactive HPC service, provided by a consortium of universities consisting of Aarhus University (AU), Aalborg University (AAU) and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). The H100 GPUs are hosted at the SDU data center and available via the user-friendly platform, UCloud, that powers the DeiC Interactive HPC service…
Streamline your workflow when using DeiC Interactive HPC
Have you ever experienced delays due to high demand for computing resources on UCloud (DeiC Interactive HPC)? The key to faster access and reducing system strain is efficient resource management.
Over-requesting can lead to unnecessary waiting because DeiC Interactive HPC operates by allocating resources to users as the requested resources become available, without the use of priority queues. Consequently, if you select a large machine for a relatively small task, you will need to wait for other tasks requested for these larger but fewer machines to finish, leading to prolonged waiting.
“Users with little or no experience in assessing the amounts of resources needed have a tendency to request more than they actually need. This causes unnecessary queues and frustration for other users. However, we also see experienced users choosing the large machines simply out of habit instead of starting small, and subsequently migrate to a larger machine only when necessary.”
Jes Elgin, Cloud Engineer at DeiC Interactive HPC
To avoid delays, users need to accurately assess and request only the necessary resources for their task. Starting with conservative estimates can expedite access and improve overall system efficiency.
“Choosing small will always give you a head start as there are more small machines, and you can always upgrade to a large machine if you need it. You don’t have to start over, and you won’t lose any data.”
Jes Elgin, Cloud Engineer at DeiC Interactive HPC
**TIP!** Did you know that the likelihood of obtaining a machine right away is higher the less resources you request?
So, choose your machine based on a qualified estimate of resources needed. If unsure start small and seek advice from experienced colleagues or the DeiC Front Office.
DeiC Interactive HPC has achieved another remarkable feat: it now has more than 9000 users! The graph shows the rapid and steady growth of the user base, which has tripled in just two years. More about this new milestone here
The first national call for HPC resources H2-2024 is now open.
As a researcher at a Danish university, you have various options for gaining access to computing power at both Danish and international HPC facilities.
Deadline for application is 12. March. For more information, visit DeiCs website.
