Milestone Event: NTNU Gjøvik Hosts First-Ever HPC Workshop for Scalable Plant Phenotyping

Gjøvik, Norway — The PheNo and NordPheno projects marked a major technical milestone this month as the NTNU Gjøvik campus successfully hosted its first-ever High-Performance Computing (HPC) workshop. The intensive three-day event, titled “Hands-on Training with HPC: Scalable Plant Phenotyping with Supercomputers,” brought together research and infrastructure communities to bridge the gap between cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI), Plant Phenotyping and national supercomputing resources.

The workshop was organized by a dedicated team from NTNU Gjøvik—including Prof. Faouzi Alaya Cheikh, Dr. Vijeta Sharma, Mohammad Moosa, and Wissem Nouir—alongside Jørn Dietze from UiT The Arctic University of Norway, in close collaboration with Sigma2 (the Norwegian National Research Infrastructure) and the Norwegian Research Infrastructure Services (NRIS).

A Global Gathering of Minds

Reflecting the worldwide interest in advanced phenotyping technologies, the workshop was conducted in a hybrid format. It drew a large, diverse cohort of participants both in person on the Gjøvik campus and streaming online from across the globe.

The event officially opened with welcoming remarks from Prof. Faouzi Alaya Cheikh, who underscored the critical importance of high-performance computing in modern agricultural research and brief of PheNo and NordPheno projects. The technical program kicked off immediately after, starting with a deep dive into the intersection of machine learning and plant phenotyping:

• “AI in Plant Phenotyping” presented by Mohammad Moosa.
• “Importance of GPUs machine for AI” by Jørn Dietze (UiT) and
• “HPC and Supercomputing in Norway and Europe” by Vijeta Sharma (NTNU), setting the architectural stage for the practical days ahead.

First-Hand Experience on Norway’s Newest Infrastructure

A defining highlight of the workshop was the extensive practical session where participants gained real-world experience on Norway’s national supercomputing infrastructure Olivia. Guided step-by-step by core instructors Jørn Dietze and Vijeta Sharma, attendees navigated user login setups, managed reservations, and ran leaf disease segmentation and ViT AI applications directly on the national systems.

The sessions provided many participants with their first look at Norway’s brand-new Olivia system, igniting massive enthusiasm for utilizing these massive compute capabilities in their ongoing research.

Global Expert Insights

Over the course of three days, the curriculum was enriched by a stellar lineup of international guest speakers who brought global perspectives on advanced computing infrastructure:

• Dr. Sasmita Mahapatra from the Dallas Supercomputing Centre (USA)
• Dr. Buket Benek from the Ireland Supercomputing Centre
• Steinar Gundersen from Sigma2 (Norway’s Supercomputing Organisation)

These speakers provided invaluable technical insights, guiding participants through the finer points of deploying heavily scaled AI workloads on supercomputer nodes.

Looking Ahead to Continued Collaboration

The event concluded with closing remarks and a vote of thanks from Prof. Faouzi Alaya Cheikh, who congratulated the success of this event. The workshop has significantly elevated the visibility of advanced HPC-AI implementation within the Gjøvik research ecosystem, creating a powerful foundation for future iterations.

The organizing team extends its deepest gratitude to the Sigma2 and NRIS staff for providing flawless, on-the-fly technical assistance and login support throughout the event. With the momentum generated this week, the PheNo and NordPheno projects look forward to a long, continued collaboration with UiT, Sigma2, and our global research partners to push the boundaries of scalable plant science.