SADC HPC Framework Adoption
Workshop Capetown
University of Botswana HPC Roadmap
&
National opportunities
2nd -3rd Dec 2013
Dr T. Motshegwa, Department of
Computer Science
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
2
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
3
Outline
• University of Botswana (CS Department) HPC
Roadmap
• UB's Research Strategy & Strategic Plan
• Outline of HPC Roadmap
• HPC/Big Data Landscape & Potential
Applications/Opportunities
• Road Map Way Forward
• How are Innovations around HPC & Big Data like?
• National Opportunities & e-Government.
• Preparedness: Computer Science Department
Infrastructure
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
4
About UB
• Largest established university in Botswana
• 7 Established Faculties
• Science, Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Health
Sciences, Business, Humanities, Social Sciences.
• School of graduate Studies
• Office of Research & Development
• Commercialization unit
• Research centres
• A detailed updated University Research Strategy
(URS) approved by Senate in 2008
• Strategic goals and vision for research intensive
institution
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
5
Research Strategy & UB
Strategic Plan
To increase staff participation
To increase and enhance student research training
To increase internal and external research funding
To increase international collaborative research
To increase the volume and quality of research
outputs
• To enhance the impact of research
• To improve the integration of research and
teaching
• Therefore HPC Regional initiative fits in with our
strategic outlook
•
•
•
•
•
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
6
University of Botswana
HPC Roadmap
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
7
RoadMap: Outline
• Formed a Steering Committee to:• Complete and endorse country Needs
Assessment Survey (Ongoing).
• Identify research problems & projects, e.g.
– SKA Related **
– HPC-As-A-Service***
– Bioinformatics*
– Health & Medical Informatics
– Epidemiological modeling** (Human, Animal diseases outbreaks)
– E-Government & Big Data ,Analytics Visualization***
– Meteorology**, Geological Surveys*, Remote Sensing*,
Environmental observation*
– Economic modeling*
– Computational Finance*
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
8
HPC/Big Data Landscape &
Potential Applications(1)
• University wide HPC-AS-A-Service
• Currently: None
• Beneficiaries: Faculties, researchers,
Government, outside stakeholders
• SKA Project.
• Currently: Conceived: Botswana to host some
array elements and local HPC data center?
• Beneficiaries: Physics, Computer Science &
Mathematics Dept, Science education
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
9
Potential Applications(2)
• Epidemiological Modeling
• Currently: Standard research, hampered by lack
of HPC for improved turnaround times
• Human health - Some disease models defined
• Animal health - None*
• Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak and management
• Animal movement traceability
• Vaccine/Vaccination assessments
• Economic implications/Policy (EU Beef Exports)
• Beneficiaries, Medical Schools, Ministry of Health,
Dept of Animal Health, Botswana Vaccine Institute
(FMD
Regional
reference
Lab)
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
10
Potential Applications(3)
• Bioinformatics
• Currently: None
• Beneficiaries: Biological Sciences, CS –
Multidisciplinary research
• Potential international collaboration – Biotec
Center Dresden, Prof Michael Schroeder?
• Capacity building, Local problems focus: Wildlife
species genomics, proteomics?
• Health & Medical Informatics
• Currently: Standard Research, patient records
• Exploitation: Analytics,visualisation, policy
• Beneficiaries: Ministry of Health, Health sector
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
11
Potential Applications(4)
• Meteorological/Climate modeling
• Currently: Some outsourced - third party weather
forecast, wild fire monitoring?
• Beneficiaries: Meteorological Services, Faculty of science
• Stimulation of multidisciplinary research
• Hydrology/Geological/Remote
Sensing/Environmental observation
• Currently: Standard Research
• Exploitation: Analytics, visualisation – mineral
prospecting, ground water resources: Policy
• Beneficiaries: Ministry of minerals resources &, Faculty
of science
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
12
Potential Applications(5)
• Economic modeling
• Currently: Standard research
• Beneficiaries: Government, Faculty of Social Sciences,
Economic Thinktanks e.g. Botswana Institute for
Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA)
• Stimulation of Multidisciplinary research
• Policy formulation
• Computational Finance / Modeling
• Currently: Standard Research
• Exploitation: Financial Instruments, Stochastic models,
Model validation/caliberation, Analytics, visualisation
• Beneficiaries: Finance sector,IFSC, BoB, Faculty of Business
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
13
More Potential Applications(6)
• Telecommunications
• Network usage, analytics, visualisation
• Defence & Security
• Penetration games,
• cryptology, strategy and
• policy making
• R&D and Innovation Acceleration
• Financial Markets and Financial Transactions
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
14
UB Roadmap: Way Forward(1)
• Complete an extensive research proposal for
HPC-AS-A-Service project
• Actively seek sources of funding
– ORD, EU-Africa FP7,Wellcome Trust, British
council...
• Build alliance and collaborations
• Liaise with regional partners
– Formal programme and annual schedule
calendar/events
• Curriculum review, Parallel & Concurrent
Programming course, Comp Finance+ HPC courses
• Evaluate further opportunities.
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
15
UB Roadmap: Way Forward (2):
• Infrastructure & Resources
• Dedicated labs for HPC
• Through networks with CHPC we can receive
hardware from Texas Advanced Computing Center
• Appointments
– Dr D. Mpoeleng – Representation at the
Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and
Technology
– Draft of a country plan for implementation
– Dr T. Motshegwa - Operational level
interface with country stakeholders and
external partners and collaborators
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
16
Opportunities: Innovations
around HPC & Big Data
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
17
Example of how Academic
projects can evolve (UCL)
• Satalia NPComplete Ltd, UCL spin off
– Prof Antony Finkelstein, Dr Daniel Hulme
• Provides Optimisation-As-A-Service
• Satalia SolveEngine
• “One stop shop” for state of the art optimisation
algorithms
• Gives industry access to cutting edge
technology/Algorithms
• Intelligent use of compute resources
• Produces smarter faster solutions to complex
problems
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
18
Example benefits
• Provides economic models to academics to
commercialise their algorithmic inventions.
• Allows academics to get access to critical data to
improve their research.
• Provides developers of software tools a new
revenue mechanism to support development and
exposure of their software.
• Optimisation problems exist across computer
science and engineering.
• Satalia SolveEngine solve problems in graph
theory, logistics,system verification, BigData and
cryptography.
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
19
How this is done
• Provides a software platform
• A portal and an API to allow submission of
optimisation and retrieve solutions.
• New optimisation translators and enconders to
provide interoperability between algorithmic
formats (SAT,CSP,FZN, LP,GPL,SMT,OPT).
• Machine learning to match the right algorithm
to the problems received.
– Distributed computing running on HPC and on
private and public clouds.
– Management console for academics to include
algorithms in the platform, commercialise IP,
access valuable data to enable better research.
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
20
National Opportunities and
Government's View
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
21
Stakeholders & Gov Institutions
• Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology
• Department of Research Science and Technology
• Mandate is to provide leadership in science and technology through the
• Provision of an enabling policy and legislation environment and
• Coordination of science and technology activities in the country.
• Botswana Institute of Technology, Research and
Innovation (BTRI)
• Mandate is to undertake research, identify and or develop appropriate
technologies in line with national priorities and needs of Botswana
• Botswana Innovation Hub
• Mandated to support new ventures and existing companies as well as
attract companies, universities, research and advanced training institutes
to establish in the Science and Technology Park
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
22
Botswana's National eGovernment Strategy
• “1Gov” Seamless Government with intergrated
Services
• High Performance infrastructure and Data
Warehousing
• Integrated data sources
• Improved Service Delivery
• Fast and informative business intelligence to guide
policy formulation
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
23
Gap Analysis
• Large budget for hardware, software, power,
networking and storage
• Strong partnerships with private entities
• Low levels of expertise – HR capacity building over
the near and long term
• Policies or frameworks that can nurture HPC
advancement
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
24
Preparedness: Computer
Science Department
Infrastructure
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
25
About UB
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
26
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
27
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
28
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
29
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
30
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
31
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
32
Thank you
tshiamo.motshegwa@mopipi.ub.bw
HPC Framework SADC Workshop, Capetown
33