Technology/Science
Moroccan University Inaugurates Africa’s Most Powerful Supercomputer By Jasper Hamann
MOHAMMED VI POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY (UM6P) has officially launched its new datacenter that hosts Africa’s most powerful supercomputer. The new entity at UM6P will provide high performance computing (HPC) to boost research on the African continent. UM6P launched its new African Supercomputing Center (ASCC) in partnership with the University of Cambridge and technology firms Dell and Intel. The ASCC aims to provide resources for vital research in Africa in topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Genomics, Food Security, Agriculture and Mining. As Africa’s premier supercomputer, the ASCC has amazing capacities. The supercomputer contains over 69000 CPU cores, over 8000 terabytes of storage, and more than 1300 servers for its networking capabilities. It has “a clear and well-developed vision to create a world class Supercomputing Centre with the largest HPC system in Africa, acting as a technological beacon, demonstrating global research leadership,” UM6P announced in a press release. The new supercomputer hopes to “solve African research problems in both academia and industry and create the next generation of computational 81
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scientists and digital entrepreneurs.” Over the past decades high performance computing has become an essential tool for scientists. “Today, to out-compute is to outcompete,” explained the European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing. The new datacenter at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is now set to accelerate research at the university and provide a new valuable research tool for scientists in Morocco and across Africa. According to UM6P, the new platform will start “building research momentum and inspiring a generation of African students with HPC technology leadership.” Besides its contribution to Africa, the supercomputer will also “help guarantee the digital sovereignty of the Kingdom and to develop new 100% Moroccan digital services,” noted UM6P. www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/02/335518/ moroccan-university-inaugurates-africas-mostpowerful-supercomputer Image credit: datacenterdynamics.com, ResearchGate
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