News

From February 4 to 7, 2025, EPICURE hosted a successful HPC in ARM Architecture Hackathon at INESC TEC’s hub at the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal. Over four days, researchers, developers, and HPC enthusiasts came together to explore the potential of ARM-based computing.

With a strong focus on hands-on experience, the hackathon provided participants with expert-led sessions on porting and optimizing code for ARM processors. Attendees worked directly with the ARM partition of the EuroHPC supercomputer Deucalion, allowing them to test their applications on cutting-edge hardware.

“The EPICURE HPC in ARM Architecture Hackathon was a fantastic opportunity for researchers and developers to gain hands-on experience with ARM-based supercomputing. This event highlights the growing importance of ARM in high-performance computing and helps prepare the community for the exascale era”, said António Sousa, Deucalion Coordinator and the Advanced Training WP leader.

Hands-on learning and collaboration

The event adopted a “Bring Your Code” approach, where participants worked on their own research projects with guidance from experienced mentors, some of them from the Deucalion User Support Team. Sessions covered key topics such as transitioning code from x86 to ARM, optimizing for efficiency, and exploring AI applications on ARM architecture.

John Wagner, from Fujitsu, delivered a talk on the A64FX processor, shedding light on its role in the evolving HPC landscape. The hackathon also fostered collaboration between academia and industry, with professionals from diverse backgrounds sharing knowledge and best practices in this field.

Advancing HPC on ARM

As ARM processors gain traction in supercomputing, the hackathon helped equip researchers with the necessary skills to prepare for future exascale computing challenges. Several teams made significant progress in optimizing their codes, and some projects are expected to continue development in collaboration with EPICURE experts.