Overview
In April 2025, Team CHPC gathered in Cape Town for an immersive week of HPC training, an experience designed to strengthen both technical expertise and team cohesion ahead of the ISC 2025 Student Cluster Competition in Hamburg, Germany.
While previous years’ teams trained abroad, the 2025 group’s focus remained firmly on leveraging South Africa’s own advanced HPC infrastructure and expertise. The week involved in-depth technical sessions, real-world exposure to HPC-driven research, and dynamic team-building activities that reinforced collaboration and problem-solving under pressure.
DIPLOMICS Laboratory
Day 1 training began with a visit to the DIPLOMICS laboratory, a national research infrastructure programme that supports genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Here, the team learned how HPC systems are applied to large-scale biological data processing. From genome sequencing to molecular analysis – where petabytes of raw data are transformed into actionable scientific insights.
The experience provided a clear view of how computational performance directly impacts research outcomes, especially in data-intensive fields such as bioinformatics. This connection between HPC and real-world research helped the team appreciate the broader impact of their technical skills.
CSIR Rosebank Campus
Following the visit to DIPLOMICS, the team travelled to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Rosebank Campus, home to the Lengau Supercomputer – South Africa’s flagship HPC system. At the CSIR, the team explored different hardware configurations, learned about cluster architecture, and discussed the operational challenges of maintaining large-scale compute environments.
Hands-on sessions included system demonstrations, benchmarking discussions, and best practices for optimizing workloads in parallel computing environments. Thanks to the team’s sponsor – Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) – the team was also able to train using a top-class cluster configuration hosted in Geneva, Switzerland.
Technical Training
The remainder of the week was devoted to focusing on the benchmarks and applications required for both the Virtual and In-Person components of ISC 2025.
Training modules covered essential HPC skills such as workload optimization, parallel scaling, and performance tuning. The sessions included benchmarking tools (e.g., HPL and HPCG), application optimization strategies, and debugging methods for distributed systems.
Through collaborative coding sessions and guided tutorials, the team worked closely to configure, test, and fine-tune their systems, simulating real competition conditions while developing a deeper understanding of how HPC resources are managed and optimized.
Team Building and Collaboration
Outside of the technical sessions, the CHPC team enjoyed a series of team-building activities that helped strengthen group dynamics. These included a relaxed pool day and lively evenings filled with board games and competitive card matches – the kind that kept everyone on their toes and laughing in equal measure.
These moments encouraged communication, trust, and camaraderie all essential qualities for a team that will rely on seamless collaboration under tight competition timelines in Hamburg.
From Training to Competition
The lessons learned during training directly translated into success at ISC 2025, where Team CHPC proudly represented South Africa. The experience not only sharpened their HPC expertise but also showcased the impact of local innovation and teamwork on a global platform.
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