High Performance Computing for the Blizard Institute

On May 7, 2025, from 2pm to 5pm in the Sofa Room at Dept, researchers from the Blizard Institute advanced their understanding of Apocrita, the High Performance Computing cluster at Queen Mary University of London. The hybrid session included six participants in person and four joining online via Microsoft Teams. A group photo was taken during a coffee break, showcasing their enthusiasm and new souvenirs.

The workshop focused on installing AI libraries using Python virtual environments. It began with an introduction to the Apocrita cluster, where all participants ensured their SSH keys were authorised and had full access. As many attendees were new to Linux (half using Windows and the other half MacOS), the session included hands-on practice with basic Linux commands to get them comfortable using Rocky Linux on Apocrita. The command line was used throughout the workshop to reinforce learning, and participants were rewarded for their engagement with handcrafted bee-themed keyrings.

A critical teaching moment came during a sudden silence (the screen went off), which was used to emphasise the importance of transferring files to and from the cluster directly from one's local machine. Participants then created Python environments on computational nodes to install AI libraries effectively. The workshop concluded with everyone successfully completing the assigned tasks, a moment of pride for the organisers.

Special thanks were given to Beth Hughes for gathering the audience and to Nicola Readwin for supporting the event's logistics. Encouragingly, the group expressed interest in further learning about GPU usage and more practical examples, paving the way for continued HPC training at QMUL.

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