Fostering Romanian computing research
Romania's West University of Timisoara hosts a Research Centre in Computer Science, which has specialised interests in parallel computing and artificial intelligence. Centre administrators want to raise its international recognition; related efforts to date having highlighted particular areas for improvement. The EU-funded HOST (High performance computing service centre) project aimed to foster the Centre's participation in European Research Area (ERA) activities. The goal first required upgrade of the Centre's equipment capabilities and development of staff knowledge. The means for improvement was to be strategic partnerships and exchanges. Consortium members arranged numerous personnel exchanges between the Centre and its strategic partners, the purpose being to enhance knowledge and skills. The result was sufficient enough to increase the Centre's involvement in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), verified by more than 40 published papers. Personnel upgrades also involved recruitment of expert talent. HOST also offered training sessions for young researchers in Romania, partly to improve job opportunities. A combination of an open access programme and national workshops identified potential users for the services offered by the Centre. As such, more than 40 European groups have benefited from use of the Centre's high-performance computing resources. Further results include closer collaboration with other compatible research institutions. Via a number of visits, open days and other events, the team increased participation in FP7 projects. Hence, more than 40 proposals for such collaboration were submitted, 6 of which have been granted. As a result of the upgrades, the Centre was invited to represent Romania at several councils and in new European initiatives. The Centre was also invited to submit 20 more FP7 proposals. As a consequence of EU-supported upgrades, the Timisoara Research Centre in Computer Science is better equipped for participation in ERA activities. The outcome should benefit the Romanian research community, also leading to commercial opportunities for local and European businesses.
Keywords
Computing, Romania, computer science, high performance computing
