During the framework of the second half (M13-M28), EuroCC has achieved the following main results:
• The NCCs have strengthened their position in their national landscapes as contact points for all HPC, HPDA and AI-related inquiries from users (see also Section 8.3 with the Assessment of the NCCs and the current data for their collaborations)
• The network between the NCCs has been strengthened and widened due to an increasing number of collaborations, mentoring, twinning and workshop activities.
• The shared workspace server has been continuously filled with materials by the NCCs and CASTIEL partners and all necessary management and quality assurance (QA) mechanisms have been established and provided. These are described in the regularly updated deliverable D1.1 “Project Management Handbook”. Furthermore, the Data Management Plan is described in D1.4 “Data Management Plan”. Aspects of GDPR for the project website are described in CASTIEL’s D5.3 “The CASTIEL Website”.
• Collaboration between EUROCC and CASTIEL was taken forward and intensified through regular Working Group meetings of the CASTIEL partners and also live meetings of both project members (e.g. at the 2nd project phase planning meeting in Frankfurt on April 28th 2022, or the EuroCC-CASTIEL conference in Budva, Montenegro from Sept 6th-9th 2022). The goal of the continued interaction between the two projects is to strengthen contact points along the whole network of NCCs for stakeholders, where knowledge and consultation on HPC and related topics can also be obtained across national borders.
• Work on the impact and sustainability of the project has continued with the refinement and continuous content updates of the EUROCC-ACCESS website. The formulated clear plans for the dissemination and collaboration activities of the project were followed and where necessary adjusted. For more details, please check CASTIEL deliverables D5.5 “Final Report on Communication and Dissemination” and D5.7 “Final Report on Innovation Management and Exploitation”.
• The NCCs were more intensively involved in the European ecosystem. An increasing number of positive results from the collaboration with industry and other actors have been achieved.
Dissemination and Exploitation results:
The work related to dissemination and communication focussed on the communication of information about the CASTIEL project and the national competence centres (NCCs) from EuroCC, to support the communication teams in the NCCs, to create and maintain the web-platform EuroCC ACCESS and to keep track of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in CASTIEL. The work on the project communication from year one was expanded and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set in the Grant Agreement (GA) have all been met. One main focus of the second period was the in-person event participation, which was not possible in year one. Furthermore, more content was sourced from the NCCs in the form of success stories so that the NCCs visibility was enhanced. The first project conference in Montenegro was organised and also promoted through the EuroCC newsletter. The EuroCC newsletter appears on a weekly basis and is sent to all EuroCC members. It contains general information that is important for all NCCs, as well as details about current and upcoming events, workshops and deadlines.
