There is less than a month to go until the Jornadas 2022, in Viseu, from May 31st to June 2nd. The Area Director of the FCCN Unit, Miguel Andrade, anticipates the event, stressing its importance and revealing some of the main novelties for the 2022 edition. "The FCCN Unit Days provide a contact with our community like no other event".
#1 This year, from May 31st to June 2nd, another edition of the Days of Scientific Computing will be held. What is the importance of this moment for the FCCN Unit?
The Journeys have an enormous importance for the FCCN Unit. Mainly because of the contact we establish with the community we serve and the interaction we have with it. It is an opportunity to explain what we have been doing and what we are planning. On the other hand, it is an excellent occasion to hear, from our interlocutors in the institutions, the expectations they have about our performance. The FCCN Unit exists to serve the community - being close to it is one of the conditions for the success of our activity. The Scientific Computing Conference provides this contact like no other event.
The days are also important as a moment of more informal interaction among all the participants, which takes place in the corridors and in the moments that fill the social agenda. Often, these moments are the basis for a more productive and effective professional relationship.
#2 In 2022, the Jornadas will take place at the Polytechnic of Viseu. Over the years, this event has already passed by other higher education institutions or research units. What is the reason for this choice by entities from the academic and scientific world?
One of the goals we have, in organizing the Journeys, is to take them around the country. We like to go to the institutions we work for. We get to know them better and they get to know us. It is very good to see the enthusiasm with which we are always received and the commitment with which the institutions collaborate with us in order to make the events a success. The Viseu Polytechnic is no exception!
With the growth of the Jornadas, the criteria for selecting a location also have to do with the logistical conditions they offer, which are increasingly demanding. The hotel conditions of the candidate city and the surrounding region are also relevant. In the case of Viseu, we found excellent conditions, both at the Viseu Polytechnic and in the city, which will certainly allow us to have a very successful event in the best conditions.
#3 In addition to communicating the most recent news in FCCN services and projects, the Conference also aims to discuss emerging themes in the areas of activity of the FCCN Unit. What will be some of the themes present in the 2022 edition?
As usual, we will cover all areas of our work. I suggest consulting the program of the Conference, which is already available online. There are, however, always new features and in this edition I would like to mention, in particular, the sessions dedicated to the OCRE framework agreement, which provides very interesting possibilities for purchasing cloud services IaaS+. We intend to make this opportunity known in detail to our community, in order to stimulate the use of the framework agreement. In this session we will have, among other participants, the pleasure of having the OCRE project director and the procurement specialist from GÉANT. We will also hear the experience of those who have already used this contracting possibility, as well as some resellers present in the framework agreement.
I would also like to draw your attention to two workshops, one on research data management and another on new tools available on b-on, which will be held late in the morning of the 31st and for which prior registration is required.
#4 What will be other highlights of the 2022 edition?
I would say that, for us, all points are high. Each participant will know how to identify his or her own high points, according to his or her expectations and interests.
Personally, I have a special affection for Zapping where we present the news of our projects and services in a very condensed format. This moment allows us to convey the essentials and whets the appetite for going deeper into the themes in the specialized sessions or in other areas.
I would also like to mention, in addition to the technical sessions that we will have, the interventions that will take place in the opening session on June 1st. As life is not all bits and bytes, we will hear about themes that are far from the subject matter of FCCN's activity and that, I'm sure, will catch our attention as much as the technical sessions in which we will participate.
I would also like to highlight our social program to which we also attach great importance, for the reasons I mentioned. On May 31st we will have four tours of Viseu, which will help us get to know the city better, and a happy hour at the Solar do Vinho do Dão. On June 1 we will have our usual dinner.
#5 Is there anything you would like to add?
Come all to Viseu. It will be worth it!
You can register for the Days of Scientific Computing at https://jornadas.fccn.pt
