End of an era
18 May 2022
The immensely successful HPC-Europa3 programme finished in April 2022 after five years. Although EPCC has been involved in similar Transnational Access programmes since 1993, COVID-19 meant HPC-Europa3 was like no other programme before it.
In March 2020 visits ended abruptly as restrictions came in and programme participants scrambled to return home early before international borders closed.
For months no visits took place, and by autumn 2021 our target number of visitors looked far out of reach, with only seven new visits having started since the COVID-19 pandemic began. However, as travel restrictions eased, visitors were finally able to plan their long-postponed visits, and application numbers rose sharply again for the last two closing dates.
EPCC finally supported 171 visits over the five years, with 60 of these taking place in the final four months of the programme, which was an extremely hectic period. This was despite some 27 visits being cancelled, mainly due to the pandemic.
Adapting to the circumstances, HPC-Europa3 introduced “virtual visits” for those who were unable to reschedule their visit in the available timeframe. Virtual visits had been offered under the previous HPC-Europa programme, but there was little interest in them and their value was not appreciated compared to in-person visits. However the pandemic has changed the way people work and it has been great to see that the majority of the 27 recent “virtual visits” have been highly successful, with the participants extremely enthusiastic about their experiences.
In total visitors came from 30 different countries, with most from EU countries and Associated States such as Norway and Switzerland, and a few from further afield, including Mexico, Iran, South Africa, Singapore and New Zealand.
The majority of visitors still come from chemistry and physics, where HPC has long been used, but life sciences are increasingly represented, with many projects focused on drug design and cancer research in particular and, since 2020, on COVID-19 research.
As yet there is no news of an HPC-Europa4 programme, but we are actively seeking an appropriate opportunity to apply for Horizon Europe funding to continue this immensely successful programme, which many past visitors have cited as a key moment in their research career.
