The EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy (EVITA) Project: Developing coordinated HPC training across Europe with recognised qualifications

The EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy (EVITA) was initiated to bring forward the development of a standardised European training framework in HPC. The project will provide a structured framework of competences and qualifications, covering the multidisciplinary field of HPC and related emerging technologies. 

The EVITA framework will deliver qualification standards for harmonised learning content, systematically structured into small, coherent learning modules. By providing reference course material, EVITA will enable the creation of training and education programmes, including professional training, and independent learning across Europe, targeting academia, industry, innovators and trainers.

In addition, EVITA will support European training providers, primarily research centres, universities, and companies, with methods and tools for effective delivery of HPC education, qualifications, assessment and certification. By creating a unified framework of qualifications and modular learning content, the initiative will ensure that learners across Europe acquire consistent, high-quality skills.

EVITA targets undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as early-career researchers entering the field, professionals seeking to upskill or reskill, and educators looking for structured, high-quality content to enhance their programmes.

The project will collaborate closely with other training initiatives, such as the HPC SPECTRA training portal, the EuroCC network and the EUMaster4HPC project.

With the coordination of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) (Spain), EVITA involves partners from seven European countries. The partners include Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG) (Germany), VSB - Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO) (Czech Republic), Linköping University (LiU) (Sweden), Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) (Italy), Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) (Austria), Université du Luxembourg, and University of Stuttgart (USTUTT) (Germany).

Funded by the EuroHPC JU, EVITA has a budget of €6,000,000 stemming from Digital Europe funding programme. Selected following the call DIGITAL-EUROHPC-JU-2023-ACADEMY-02-01, the project will last for a period of four years starting in April 2025. 

Background

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a legal and funding entity created in 2018 to enable the European Union and EuroHPC participating countries to coordinate their efforts and pool their resources with the objective of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing.    

In order to equip Europe with a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured ten supercomputers, located across Europe. Through the EuroHPC Access Calls, European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can benefit from these EuroHPC supercomputers, which rank among the world’s most powerful.   

The EuroHPC JU is also deploying a European Quantum Computing infrastructure, integrating diverse European quantum computing technologies with supercomputers. As part of this effort, the JU has recently procured five quantum computers, currently being deployed in Poland, Czechia, France, Germany, and Spain, with additional systems coming soon to Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

In parallel, the EuroHPC JU is investing in research and innovation projects to develop a full European supercomputing supply chain: from processors and software to applications to be run on these supercomputers and know-how to develop strong European HPC expertise. 

Recently reviewed by means of Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1732, the EuroHPC JU received a new mandate to develop and operate AI factories. These comprehensive open AI ecosystems located around EuroHPC supercomputing facilities will support the growth of a highly competitive and innovative AI ecosystem in Europe. In December 2024, the EuroHPC JU selected the sites that will host the first European AI Factories, set to be deployed in 2025 across Europe in Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden. In March 2024 six new sites were selected to host aadditional AI Factories in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland, and Slovenia.