Events Archives • Zimbabwe Centre for High Perfomance Computing

ZCHPC -Afrosoft Mou

zchpc — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 20:01:16 +0000

Zimbabwe Education system witnessed a momentous occasion as the Zimbabwe Centre of High-Performance Computing (ZCHPC) and Afrosoft, a leading technology company, joined hands in a historic partnership. The landmark event, held in Harae at Afrosft offices, brought together key figures from both organizations, including Mr. Munashe Muonde, the CEO of Afrosoft, and Dr. Ruwa, the Director of ZCHPC.. The ceremony served as a platform to celebrate the fusion of cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions, symbolizing a significant step forward for Zimbabwe’s technological landscape. With the shared vision of empowering the nation through advanced computing capabilities, ZCHPC and Afrosoft demonstrated their commitment to driving digital transformation and accelerating scientific research and development. The event commenced with an electrifying atmosphere, as representatives from both ends gathered to witness this extraordinary collaboration. The venue was adorned with a tour showcasing the latest advancements in advanced development process , reflecting the immense potential of this union. Mr. Munashe Muonde, the CEO of Afro soft, delivered an inspiring keynote address, emphasizing the transformative power of technology and the boundless opportunities it holds for Zimbabwe. He highlighted the significance of this partnership, emphasizing the synergy between Afrosoft’s innovative software solutions and ZCHPC’s state-of-the-art computing infrastructure. Ruwa, representing ZCHPC, echoed Mr. Muonde’s sentiments, underscoring the immense potential of high-performance computing in driving scientific research, data analysis, and computational modelling. Dr. Ruwa expressed his excitement at the collaboration, stating that it would propel Zimbabwe’s research and development capabilities to new heights, positioning the nation as a hub for technological innovation. The ceremony showcased a series of captivating demonstrations and presentations, illustrating the real-world applications and benefits of high-performance computing. Experts from both organizations shared their insights and experiences, shedding light on the transformative impact this partnership would have on various sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, climate modelling, and artificial intelligence.

The event concluded with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ZCHPC and Afrosoft, formalizing their commitment to collaborate on research, development, and knowledge exchange. This MoU marked the beginning of an exciting chapter in Zimbabwe’s technological journey, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that would drive innovation and uplift the nation. The Zimbabwe Centre of High-Performance Computing and Afrosoft’s partnership ceremony not only celebrated the union of two influential entities but also laid the foundation for a future marked by technological excellence and groundbreaking achievements according to 5.0 education constitution. With their combined expertise and resources, ZCHPC and Afrosoft are poised to revolutionize the technological landscape of Zimbabwe and make significant contributions on the global stage.

ZCHPC at ZITF 2022 on 27 April 2022

zchpc — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 07:01:47 +0000

The Hon Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Pror dr A. Murwira observes a ZCHPC COVID-19 Spread Regulator Robot

Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing (ZCHPC) is showcasing wonders at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) 2022. Visit our stand and enjoy research works being done by our esteemed technical engineers, and research scientists, respective administration team and management.

The Hon Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Pror dr A. Murwira observes ZCHPC moving robots

ZCHPC is exhibiting robotics, automation and control engineering research projects (COVID-19 Spread regulator robot, biometric (fingerprints and face recognition) identification system), artificial intelligence research projects, robotics (lorry offloading and litter picking robot) and life sciences.

ZCHPC robot picks water for Hon Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Pror dr A. Murwira

See more images displayed in this article when ZCHPC was showcasing to the Hon Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Pror dr A. Murwira, the Permanent Secretary Prof F. Tagwira and other varying audience from several organizations.

The Hon Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Pror dr A. Murwira gets water to drink using a ZCHPC robot

TelONE Robotics training workshop

zchpc — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 11:59:40 +0000

As a continuation of the program to introduce Robotics to polytechnic colleges. The Zimbabwe Centre for Higher Performance Computing (ZCHPC) experts in robotics, went on a two-day robotics training workshop at the TelOne Learning Centre.
On the first day, the facilitators started off with a brief introduction of HPC. It gave the students an appreciation of what ZCHPC is all about as well as how it’s linked with robotics.

The importance of robotics was outlined clearly and the reasons to have robotics in developing countries were also outlined. The equipment and electronic components were placed on a working desk and students were guided on how to design a unique robot.
On the second day the students were assigned to do the design and assemble the robotics components with the help of distributed fascinators’ help on student formulated groups. Each group was focusing on a module of the whole robot and the modules were meant to be combined for form one complete and functional robot that can carry items from one point to the other. Facilitators helped students on challenges and questions pertaining the design of individual parts and the assembling of sub-modules to form one robot. For instance, facilitators helped to troubleshoot the problem with the controlling device.

Students were continuously reminded about teamwork and how it will contribute to their success as a group. During the workshop the students showed growing interest as they learnt more about Robotics and their abilities. Towards the end of the workshop the General Manager and other lecturers came and witnessed what their students were learning. The General Manager after hearing from the students just how much they learnt, was more than willing to sponsor the students with Robotics kits so that they can continue to improve their skills.

In conclusion, robotics training at TelOne went well and the students managed to produce a functional robot that could carry light items from point A to point B. Students and the General Manager were impressed with the knowledge shared with them and they felt that there is need for additional days where advanced robotics trainings should be done.

Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing – ZCHPC National Students Cluster building Competitions 2022

zchpc — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 11:21:20 +0000

The curtain came down on the inaugural National Student Cluster Building Competition on the 26^th of January 2021. This pilot program saw eight national universities compete namely Africa University, Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Harare Institute of Technology, Great Zimbabwe University, National University of Science and Technology, Midlands State University and University of Zimbabwe. The training on cluster building started in June 2019 and was supposed to span a single academic year but due to the Covid-19 pandemic stretched longer than expected. The actual competition took place on the 25^th of January 2021 and the participants were assessed on; Operating System Initial Configurations and set up, Network Setup, HPC Cluster Services and Authentication Setup, Resource Manager Configurations, Monitoring System Configurations and Parallel programming. Speaking at the award ceremony, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Prof. Dr. Amon Murwira, who was also the Guest of Honor, said Zimbabwe is determined to become an upper middle income economy and more by 2030 as prescribed by His Excellency President Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa. He also said this competition was another deliberate step in increasing national capability and work towards that goal. The winner of the pilot competition was team University of Zimbabwe, followed closely by team Midlands State University in second and team National University of Science and Technology in third place. Prof. Dr. Murwira also announced that all the participating students had won a scholarship up to the end of their tertiary education.

Visualize the events in a video available at https://youtu.be/EPhJ6sT2xy0

ZCHPC TOURS

zchpc — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 07:36:18 +0000

Apart from the student cluster building training and user training, ZCHPC also provides educational tours throughout the year to increase awareness about high-performance computing in Zimbabwe and the use of HPC to solve scientific problems and discover innovations. There are different options for visiting and learning supercomputing at ZCHPC, you can visit in person or take a virtual tour of the HPC centre from anywhere in the world.

The face-to-face visits are made from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 pm, by appointment through the application form:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/872maiffxkf51en/ZCHPC_Visit_Application_Form.pdf/file

VIRTUAL VISIT

The virtual tour allows you to see the ZCHPC supercomputer from anywhere and have an appreciation of the ZCHPC cluster. You will be able to access the server room where the supercomputer is located, the user cubicle and the conference room.

ZIMBABWE SCIENCE PARK 1 LAUNCH

zchpc — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 07:25:37 +0000

On the 13^th of September 2021, His Excellency Cde. Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa officially opened the Zimbabwe Science Park 1 which houses the Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing (ZCHPC) and the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA). In his address, the President said the Zimbabwe Science Park 1 was a purpose-built cluster of office space that provides laboratories, workrooms and meeting areas designed to support research and development in science, information technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, biotechnology, virtual reality and robotics among other areas.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa officially opening the Zimbabwe Science Park 1

DOMAIN SPECIFIC TRAINING

zchpc — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 06:56:39 +0000

The ZCHPC offers user training in its four domains which are Geospatial and Earth Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Life Sciences and Engineering.

ZIMBABWE NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL AND SPACE AGENCY (ZINGSA) USER TRAINING

The Centre conducted user training for ZINGSA Engineers and Scientists. The training covered an introduction to basic HPC language, HPC system as well as the use of Taudem application in Geospatial and Earth Sciences. The training is also open to potential researchers and HPC users.

ZINGSA training at the ZCHPC

Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) Bioinformatics and Molecular Dynamics Training

The training was also conducted for students currently doing a Masters in Pharmaceutical Biochemistry in basic Bioinformatics and Computer-aided Drug Design. Such sessions benefit researchers who have not had practical experience and help unlock interest in computational biology.

Chinhoyi University of Technology Bioinformatics and Molecular Dynamics Training

Chinhoyi University Technology Bioinformatics and Molecular Dynamics Training

Gweru Polytechnic robotics training workshop

zchpc — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 06:48:54 +0000

Gweru Polytechnic students from different engineering disciplines i.e., electrical engineering, automotive engineering, and mechanical engineering were equipped with practical skills of building physical robots that can move on the ground to solve real-world problems. The workshop involved working with gears, motors, control hubs and programming the control hubs. A simple robot was built and it could move from point A to point B under remote control on a Tablet. The robot could also lift lightweight items from the ground, simulating human hand movement.

ZCHPC visit to Gweru Polytechnic for Robotics Training

Gweru Polytechnic robotics training workshop

NATIONAL STUDENT CLUSTER BUILDING COMPETITIONS

zchpc — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 06:45:45 +0000

The ZCHPC is conducting the National Student Cluster Building training program as a way of promoting and developing an HPC curriculum for undergraduates. The pilot program includes eight tertiary institutions namely Africa University (AU), Midlands State University (MSU), University of Zimbabwe (UZ), National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) and Great Zimbabwe University (GZU). Participating students are expected to take part in a cluster-building competition which would run at a date to be advised. Undergraduate students from the institutions would have a chance to showcase their knowledge in cluster building, parallel processing as well as HPC application. The students acquire hands-on training on HPC for future use in any HPC-related field. They get an opportunity to learn software applications used to solve real-world problems. The training involves the use of virtual technology to simulate real-world HPC clusters. That is, each cluster is built on a single host with several virtual machines. VMWare workstation is used and students install Linux CentOS 7 on the Virtual Machine. Linux Firewall and SELinux are configured for the HPC environment. The following services are installed and configured on the virtual cluster.

RSH
SSH
NIS
NFS

The installation and configuration of these services are part and parcel of cluster building. This is because all nodes can communicate smoothly with each other to collaborate in parallel processing.

After cluster implementation is done, students are taught how to install and configure job submission and management software called TORQUE. It is a resource management system for submitting and controlling jobs on supercomputers, clusters, and grids. TORQUE manages jobs that users submit to various queues on a computer system, each queue representing a group of resources with attributes necessary for the queue’s jobs. Before implementing TORQUE, students are theoretically exposed to several job submission and management software.

In HPC environment, it is necessary to have resources monitored, for this training, several monitoring software were analysed before choosing Ganglia for implementation. With Ganglia, you can monitor performance at a cluster level, node level as well as processor level.

Message Passing Interface (MPI) is another important implementation required in most HPC environments. Eight (8) out of ten (10) HPCs use MPICH worldwide which is also the one used for this training. MPICH is installed and configured before sample programs are run to test it.

Parallel programming is another skill that the students are equipped with. Parallel programming is taught using the C programming language and several programs are written to run in parallel using mpirun.

Installation, configuration as well as running of different HPC applications concludes the cluster building training workshop.

National Student Cluster Building Training for Africa University

National Student Cluster Building Training for Great Zimbabwe University

NUST students visit for ZCHPC tour

National Student Cluster Building Training for Africa University

ZCHPC STUDENT PROGRAMS

zchpc — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 06:29:54 +0000

Zimbabwe Centre for High Performance Computing (ZCHPC) provides student programs for undergraduate and polytechnic students to have an appreciation of high-performance computing systems. The programs are as follows;

National Student Cluster Building Competitions Program
National Robotics Program