Strengthening EuroCC4SEE Collaboration: NCC BiH Visits NCC Montenegro

As part of our continuous efforts to foster regional cooperation within the EuroCC4SEE network, the National Competence Centre (NCC) for High-Performance Computing (HPC) in Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted a productive visit to NCC Montenegro on May 13, 2025.

This visit served as a mentoring and twinning platform, enabling an in-depth exchange of experiences and best practices in areas such as industry onboarding, academic cooperation, and public sector engagement. Together, we also laid the groundwork for future joint initiatives and strategies to accelerate the adoption of HPC technologies in the region.

Key outcomes of the meeting included:

• Exchange of experience and practices:
  Both NCCs presented their respective approaches to HPC promotion and user engagement, highlighting successful collaborations in sectors like healthcare, energy, agri-tech, fintech, and weather forecasting. We also shared effective strategies for onboarding SMEs (including through the HPC4SME initiative), and discussed the use of national sandbox infrastructures and EuroHPC resources to support innovation and advanced computational solutions.
• Support for CMBEBIH 2025 (September 11–13, Sarajevo):
  NCC Montenegro confirmed its support for the upcoming conference through planned contributions to the call for papers (with a focus on HPC applications in medicine), Hackathon activities showcasing HPC-powered use cases, and a joint expert panel on HPC featuring both regional and international speakers.
• Joint training and outreach activities:
  Plans were developed for collaborative training events targeting industry stakeholders. These may take place during the CMBEBIH 2025 conference in Sarajevo, at the IEEE IT conference in Žabljak (February 2026), or through an HPC roadshow across five cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The meeting concluded with the definition of a concrete action plan for the upcoming period, reaffirming our shared commitment to:

• Deepening regional collaboration
• Enhancing knowledge and skills transfer
• Promoting HPC as a key driver of innovation in Southeast Europe
• Increasing the visibility and impact of NCCs within the EuroCC2 network

We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with NCC Montenegro and other regional stakeholders to build a resilient, innovation-driven HPC ecosystem across the Western Balkans.

Representatives from both NCC teams also took part in the POLICY ANSWERS Workshop on Technology-Oriented Research Infrastructures: Opportunities for the Western Balkans, where Prof. Dr. Lejla Gurbeta-Pokvić presented NCC BiH’s work and contributions to the EuroCC2 and EuroCC4SEE projects.