CHPC

We regret to inform you that applications for the 2017 Programming School has already closed. 

The next school will take place in 2018.

A full-week Introductory Scientific Programming School for

Science and Engineering students who wish to advance their skills in Linux (Ubuntu) and Python Programming language.

15 – 22 January 2017

Hosted by

the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST)

The CHPC invites applications from suitably qualified candidates to attend the above Basic Scientific Programming Course to introduce students registered with High Education Institutions in South Africa to Linux (Ubuntu) and Python programming course.

The Introductory Scientific Programming School is aimed at final year B.Sc. or B.Eng. and postgraduate students in the fields of chemistry, physics, mathematics, applied mathematics, biology, bioinformatics, computer science and engineering without a prior or sound knowledge of Linux (Ubuntu) and Python programming language. The Basic programming School will run from Monday 16 to Saturday 21 January 2011 at Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HarTRAO) located west of Johannesburg (http://www.hartrao.ac.za/ ).

The course syllabus will cover:

Full 2 day on introduction to Linux (Ubuntu) on the following topics: Overview of Ubuntu Linux Desktop; Running commands and Getting Help; Browsing the file system; the bash shell; Standard I/O and Pipe; Users, Groups and Permissions; vi and vim Editor basics; the Linux Filesystem In-Depth; Advanced Topics in Users; Groups and Permissions; Printing; Introduction to String Processing; String Processing with Regular Expressions; Finding and Processing Files; and Investigating and Managing Processes. Introduction to PBS Pro and job submission at CHPC.

Full 4 days on Introduction to Python Programming on the following topics: Python basics, Python Objects, Numbers, Sequences, Dictionaries, Conditional and Loops, Files and Input/Output, Error and Exceptions.

The course is structured in such a way that students will spend all the time in computer laboratory and the course is more hands-on practical. Students will learn by doing!

Students need to have second year mathematics or applied mathematics and basic computer skills. Background of basic scientific programming skills will be an advantage.

There are no fees for successful applicants. The CHPC will cover cost for travel and accommodation of students selected to attend the school.

Should you wish to attend the CHPC Basic Scientific Programming School kindly complete this registration form.

Due to budgetary reasons, only limited places are available for suitably qualified students.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS:

18h00, 31 October 2016

Should you wish to become one of the participants, please

click here to apply 

before the closing date.

Successful candidates will be notified by 02 December 2016.

The CHPC calls for all talented students to submit their applications. As public funded institutions, the CHPC supports the transformation of South Africa and thus the School organisers highly encourage students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to submit their applications. For general enquiries please contact Dr. Daniel M Moeketsi. Tel no.: 021 658 3961/2740 and e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The team of six undergraduate students has done the country proud and scooped second overall prize; results were announced during an online event on 24 June 2020.

The Centre for High Performance Computing’s (CHPC) national team was part of 82 university students from 11 countries that spent a month working feverishly on a cluster located at the National Supercomputing Centre of Singapore to try to win the overall prize of the International Supercomputing Competition (ISC) 2020 Student Cluster Competition.

South Africa was participating for the seventh time in the competition and has made it to the podium each time, winning three times, coming second three times and third once.

The ISC Student Cluster Competition went virtual this year and ran from 1 June to 24 June 2020. As part of this year’s competition, the ISC organising committee joined the global fight against COVID-19, and the competition included applications that address education and applied learning towards accelerating bioscience research and discovery. The student teams were tasked with testing several applications that are used by scientists and researchers to find cures against the virus.

Team South Africa is made up of six undergraduate students from Wits University, the University of the Western Cape and the University of KwaZulu-Natal namely Guy Axelrod, Victoria Bench, Michael Beukman, Sivenathi Madlokazi, Mikhail Vink and Kalreen Govender as well as Stephanie Agenbag who was the reserve from the University of the Western Cape. The team proceeded to the international round after winning the national one held in December 2019 at the CHPC’s National Conference in Johannesburg. Team South Africa is one of the only teams made up of undergraduate students and is also one of the few that does not have the same participants twice. “For the students to spend almost a month on this competition shows a lot of dedication in itself. The novelty of the applications was geared towards drug discovery using HPC. Well done to the entire team, the mentors from the CHPC and the organisers who ensured that this year’s competition take place irrespective of the challenges the world faced.

The participation of the team for the whole month mimicked the actual challenge that NICIS is facing now which is to ensure that we provide HPC resources for COVID-19 combat efforts in the country, whilst simultaneously looking at addressing issues of connectivity to enhance on-line learning.”, said the Centre Manager of the National Integrated Cyberinfrastucture System.

The ISC Student Cluster Competition encourages international teams of university students to showcase their expertise in a friendly, yet spirited competition, that fosters critical skills, professional relationships, competitive spirit and lifelong comradery. Since 2011, ISC has focused on introducing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students to the world of possibilities that is High Performance Computing (HPC) – its leaders, opportunities and community, and helping develop critical skills that students will use long after completing their current studies. Each team comprised six students and up to two advisers, competes in the competition and takes part in the world’s oldest, and Europe’s premier, conference and networking event for the international HPC community.

Over the intense competition days, the teams demonstrate incredible capabilities to obtain the greatest performance across a series of benchmarks and applications. In parallel to their day-to-day learnings, the students’ novel approaches and unique perspectives gained during the competition are integral to our own education – teaching us how HPC influences our world.