March 2, 2021 — Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC), Singapore Advanced Research & Education Network (SingAREN) and the Quantum Engineering Programme of the National University of Singapore (NUS) signed the MoU with CSC. CSC is responsible for managing Finland’s supercomputing infrastructure and the host of Europe’s most powerful pre-exascale supercomputer, the soon-to-be operational LUMI.
Among other things, the collaboration will explore a new high-speed, high-bandwidth research fibre optic link between Finland and Singapore as well as more secure ways of protecting data transfer by using quantum technology.
NSCC and CSC are also studying Finnish green data centre models which have the potential to significantly lower data centre power consumption costs – the largest cost component in most data centres – by leveraging climate and renewable energy sources.
The MoU and the other collaborative sessions at SupercomputingAsia (SCA21) is a reflection of the resolve by the HPC community to continue cooperation as a tool in fighting global challenges like the current pandemic, and to better prepare us to face the challenges to come, said Associate Professor Tan Tin Wee, the Chairperson of the SCA21 Steering Committee, and the Chief Executive of NSCC.
For Singapore, the new collaboration between CSC and the Singapore entities is significant as it could help future-proof Singapore’s HPC resources by creating new research links and connectivity to Europe, develop better ways to protect the transfer of data over long distances, and helps us explore new ways to create more efficient and greener data centres.
“CSC is excited to collaborate with NSCC, SingAREN and NUS in cutting-edge communications technology. This will enable us in Finland and in Singapore to provide our national research and education networks world-leading capabilities in data transmission and information security,” said CSC’s Managing Director, Mr Kimmo Koski.
The MoU that was signed between Singapore entities and Finland’s CSC at the SCA21 conference is a reflection of the ongoing collaborative spirit in the HPC community. The MoU was announced by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative at the Opening Ceremony of the SCA21 virtual conference.
The crisis has underscored the importance of international cooperation in the fight against the virus across the world. This MoU signals our intent to accelerate cross-border collaborations, which will benefit the research communities far beyond our shores, said Vivian Balakrishnan in his Opening Speech.
Source: CSC