Category: Supercomputing

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Application Supercomputing UCloud

New app: ONLYOFFICE Now Available on UCloud

ONLYOFFICE is a browser-based office suite for creating and editing text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats, the interface supports a seamless user experience for those familiar with traditional desktop editors.

Designed to support document work directly within the UCloud environment, ONLYOFFICE allows users to:

  • Edit and create documents stored on UCloud
  • Work with word documents, presentations, and spreadsheets
  • Upload and download files without leaving the platform
  • Maintain full compatibility with Microsoft Office file types

The app provides core functionality through a lightweight, browser-accessible interface. No additional software installation is required.

ONLYOFFICE is available to all UCloud users and is particularly relevant for:

  • Editing or preparing academic documents
  • Managing structured data in spreadsheets
  • Creating or reviewing presentations
  • Performing collaborative writing tasks

For more details, visit the UCloud documentation.

App Suggestions and Support

To suggest additional applications or request new features, contact your local Front Office.

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Application Supercomputing UCloud

New app: Manage your next event with Indico

Indico is a robust open-source platform for event organization, archiving, and collaboration, ideal for managing conferences, workshops, and scientific meetings.

Key features include:

  • Event Management: Indico allows you to organize a wide range of events, from small seminars to large conferences. It supports the entire event lifecycle, including registration, abstract and final paper submission.
  • Hierarchical Protection: Indico uses a hierarchical protection scheme that allows for different roles and protection levels within events. 
  • Integration with Collaborative Tools: Indico integrates seamlessly with tools like Zoom, enhancing the productivity of web-driven meetings. 
  • Document Management: Indico facilitates easy upload and retrieval of presentations, papers, and other documents.

Indico has been implemented on UCloud and is ready for use by all UCloud users.

For more details, visit UCloud docs for full documentation.

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Supercomputing Teaching Tutorial UCloud Workshop

Workshop 11/6: UCloud Courses

Developing your own UCloud course app using a newly developed template-based approach

Join us for a hands-on workshop where we guide you through all the steps of developing a UCloud course app using our newly developed template-based approach. The concept involves having a dedicated app on UCloud for your university course that students can use in e.g., exercise/lab session and/or at home. An introduction to the approach can be found in this webinar recording.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

  • Translate your course structure to a structure that is compatible with a UCloud course app.
  • Set up the course development environment which involves cloning the GitHub repository and running a course setup script.
  • Customize the provided templates to build a UCloud course app that includes all required components – software dependencies, scripts, datasets, and more.
  • Test the course on your computer during development to ensure everything functions correctly. We will also see how the final course app looks once it has been put on UCloud.

Git/GitHub and Docker are essential tools in the UCloud course development process. In the workshop, we will give short introductions to both tools primarily aimed at those participants who do not have experience with them. Participants can benefit from following introductory tutorials to Git and Docker in advance, although this is not a requirement.

Date: 11 June 2025

Time: 12:30-14:30 (CET)

Location: Online, via Zoom (link TBA)

Target audience: Researchers and teachers across all departments at all the Danish universities

Technical Level: Basic to Advanced

Sign up for this workshop.

Categories
Application Interactive HPC Supercomputing

New App: Apache Kafka 

Users of DeiC Interactive HPC – UCloud can now access Apache Kafka, a high-performance event streaming platform designed for managing real-time data at scale. 

Kafka deployments on UCloud support multi-node configurations, enabling production-grade distributed logging, stream processing, data integration, and publish/subscribe messaging systems. 

Students and researchers can use Apache Kafka to collect, process, and analyse large volumes of real-time data – for example, streaming data from lab sensors, social media, or web clickstreams. It’s especially useful for building data pipelines in projects involving machine learning, IoT, or real-time analytics, enabling reproducible and scalable research workflows. 

For more details on the Apache Kafka application, visit UCloud docs for the full documentation.



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Application Supercomputing UCloud

New app: Speech Analyzer – A New AI Tool for Dialogue Analysis

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. 

Sign up for the free online workshop on transcribing and editing audio transcriptions with the Transcriber and Speech Analyzer apps takes place 22 May.

For more details on the Speech Analyzer application, visit UCloud docs for the full documentation.

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Interactive HPC Supercomputing UCloud Workshop

Workshops on AI applications

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.

Technical Level: Basic to Intermediate.

Sign up for this workshop

Workshop 2:

ChatUI and CVAT pipelines

Date: 27 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 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.

Technical Level: Basic to Intermediate.

Sign up for this workshop

Workshop 3:

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 NVIDIA Triton 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.

Technical Level: Intermediate to Advanced.

Sign up for this workshop

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!

Categories
Supercomputing Workshop

Interactive HPC Consortium workshop

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.

Categories
Interactive HPC Supercomputing UCloud

DeiC Interactive HPC now has 15,000 Users

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.

Categories
Supercomputing Teaching UCloud

Host university courses on UCloud

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:

Read more
Categories
Interactive HPC Research Supercomputing UCloud

DeiC Interactive HPC Revolutionises Interdisciplinary Research with User-Friendly Supercomputing Access

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 Areas
Students

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 users
Universities

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.

Links

About DeiC Interactive HPC

Use Cases and News

News About the New UI

About the Consortium

DeiC Interactive HPC (UCloud) is a successful collaboration between three universities: SDU, AU, and AAU.

Aalborg University, CLAAUDIA, represented by Lars Sørensen

SDU, eScience Center, represented by Professor Claudio Pica

Aarhus University, Center for Humanities Computing, represented by Professor Kristoffer Nielbo