Advanced computing has become a cornerstone of scientific research and innovation. From artificial intelligence to healthcare, today's major challenges demand computational capabilities that go beyond traditional resources.
In Portugal, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through its digital services unit FCCN, has been playing a central role in enabling access to High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources. This includes making national infrastructure available, among other things, the supercomputer... Deucalion — funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) — allows for the transformation of scientific ideas into concrete results.
But how does a project's journey work in practice, from expressing interest in accessing advanced computing resources to the final impact of using these infrastructures?
1. Identifying the need for Advanced Computing
It all begins with a well-defined scientific or technological need. Projects involving large volumes of data, complex simulations, or demanding computational models find in Advanced Computing a crucial tool.
Researchers and teams turn to High-Performance Computing when they want to accelerate calculations, scale up their experiments, or explore scenarios that would be impossible to achieve with conventional resources.
2. Submission to Advanced Computing Project Competitions
To access supercomputing resources, national researchers can apply to the Advanced Computing Projects Competitions, promoted by the FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology). This initiative is aimed at scientific and innovation projects that clearly demonstrate the need for HPC (High-Performance Computing) to achieve their objectives, regardless of the stage they are in.
In the application process, teams must present a description of their project, its scientific or technological objectives, and a justification for the use of Advanced Computing. At this stage, FCCN provides information, documentation, and support to applicants to help them understand the requirements and possibilities offered by the available infrastructure.
3. Project evaluation and selection
After submission, the projects are evaluated according to the criteria defined in the specific competition documentation and in the Regulations for Advanced Computing ProjectsThe main evaluation criteria include the scientific merit of the proposal, its technical quality, and the suitability of its use of Advanced Computing.
This evaluation process aims to ensure not only the scientific excellence of the supported projects, but also the efficient and appropriate use of national advanced computing infrastructures.
4. From approval to implementation
Once approved, the teams gain access to the allocated resources and begin the contracting phase, followed by the allocation of resources and the execution of the projects, thus using supercomputers and specialized platforms for the development of their work.
Throughout this process, FCCN plays a monitoring and support role, ensuring access to infrastructure and promoting its proper and efficient use, in line with best practices in advanced computing.
5. Results, impact and value creation
The supported projects result in relevant scientific advances. new publications, development of innovative solutions or creation of knowledge with transversal impact. Its impact extends to society, the economy and innovation, reinforcing the role of Advanced Computing as an engine of scientific and technological progress.
An open path to new ideas.
Advanced Computing Project Competitions continue to be a gateway to new challenges and discoveries, contributing to a stronger, more collaborative and innovative research ecosystem.
Currently, it is open to 6th edition of the Advanced Computing Projects CompetitionThis program, promoted by the Foundation for Science and Technology through FCCN, uses a continuous application model with several application periods until September 2026. This edition includes different types of access, ranging from... A0 – Experimental Access, aimed at teams taking their first steps in HPC, up to A3 – Larger Access, intended for projects with very high computational needs. Applications can be submitted through expressways (projects with scientific evaluations in the last 3 years) or whole (subjected to scientific evaluation processes), allowing the evaluation process to be adjusted to the scientific and technical maturity of the projects.
All information regarding deadlines, regulations, and applications is available on the competition page and on the FCT portal, with several submission phases until... September 2026.
Other access mechanisms
In addition to Advanced Computing Project Competitions, there are other mechanisms for accessing specialized resources, namely through... laboratories HPC, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computingas well as the initiative InovIA and of access requestsThese complementary tools, evaluated on a case-by-case basis, allow us to respond to specific needs, promote experimentation, and support emerging use cases, offering greater flexibility in accessing national advanced computing infrastructures.
