Thanks to the creation of the HPC centre, Italy will be the first country with national datalake cloud computing infrastructure, i.e., a fast data transmission network, cloud access to this network, and infrastructures nationwide, which will be assigned dynamically and virtually thanks to the cloud; this will allow full usage of resources nationwide.
Consumers will no longer be using a computer machine to store their data and a CPU machine to analyse them, but they will have virtual systems available that will be assigned based on their availability to maximise efficiency of the process.
This translates into flexibility and optimisation of resources, which will be shared among all users. The implementation of this project will be one-of-a-kind on an international scale and based on the synergy of all national resources, with an important role played by private companies.
Programme
The National supercomputing Centre began its operations in September 2022, with initial activities being aimed at defining organisation, administration, plans for development and allocation of resources. Thus, the Centre will be operating alongside the creation of the infrastructure, which will cover the first three years of the project’s start-up phase, and with the development of applications to fully exploit the infrastructure.
From the technological and infrastructural point of view, the main steps include upgrading the CINECA Leonardo supercomputer and the distributed computing infrastructure of the INFN, purchasing a quantum computer to be placed inside the Technopole, expanding the GARR-T network (which will raise national network capacity for education and research to multiples of Terabits/second) and several interventions for the creation of thematic satellite Centres in other Italian locations. The Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC) in Lecce will be upgraded, and new centres will be built in Frascati, the area of the Gran Sasso, as well as in Naples, where a parallel computing centre run by the CINECA will be created. Furthermore, systems that are necessary for the implementation of the national datalake cloud will be developed and integrated to allow transparent access to resources. By 2024 the launch of an enhanced cloud infrastructure is expected.
In the start-up phase, the Centre will be relying on senior staff from Foundation partner institutions: more than 1500 highly skilled professionals will be dedicating part of their working time to the project. However, the involvement of young individuals is a priority; by 2022 the first calls will be published regarding Ph.D. programmes and recruitment of researchers: the Centre’s partner Universities and Research Institutes will issue calls for Ph.D. scholarships (200 in all) and post-doc scholarships (200 more) for different profiles.
The National Centre is meant to attract research and industries. In fact, open calls will be issued to involve other subjects, aside from ICSC Foundation partners, in innovation activities. 32 million euros have been allocated to open calls, i.e., calls for funding of projects which will involve new players, both from the public and private sectors. An additional 32 million euros will be available to individuals from the Centre to ultimately promote innovation, increasing TRL (Technology Readiness Level, i.e., degree of technological maturity) of new products to thoroughly finalise the process, until their release on the market.
Cross-cutting priorities
The National Supercomputing Centre will be a distributed and transversal infrastructure with the mission of supporting the world of scientific research and the business world for the innovation and digitization of the country. Along with the strategic objectives of the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), it will achieve its objectives by promoting the careers of young people and initiatives to overcome the gender gap in professional careers and between the North and South of the country. 41% of the total funding will be invested in Southern Italy. Over 100 million euros will be dedicated to personnel, with a female participation of at least 40%, and with almost 16 million euros reserved for higher education with the activation of PhD and Post-Doc scholarships.
5% investment
in scholarships
41% investment
in Southern Italy
landmark 40%
quota for women
