TYPE OF SUPPORT
Background
The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) at the Australian National University (ANU) is one of the leading super-computing centres in Australia.
NCI has been supporting research communities with not only computational resources but also training workshops and materials to support users. A knowledge gap was identified between researchers in high-performance computing and those in other fields of research.
This highlighted an essential need to provide computer science training to a broad range of researchers to increase access and improve user experience with NCI systems.
With the rapid development of AI and the demand for high performance compute for increasingly diverse applications, NCI sought a training partnership to build up core user skills in the researcher community.
QCIF Role
QCIF Digital Research was engaged to develop and deliver training workshops to Australian researchers using the NCI Australian Research Environment platform.
The focus of the workshops is high performance computing, machine learning, and essential research computing skills such as command line, version control and programming in Python.
Outcome & Impact
The ANU–NCI workshop partnership has now been completed.
Highlights include:
QCIF delivered 27 online workshops in Unix shell, Git, Python, HPC, image classification, machine learning and large language models, totalling 197 training hours, to support researchers, HDR students and research infrastructure specialists to build practical capability in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and computational research workflows.
There were 1,548 registrations and 1,035 attendees, with an overall attendance rate of 67%. 485 waitlisted participants, indicating strong unmet demand for computational training.
Participants represented 84 organisations, with strong engagement from universities, government agencies and research institutes. 57% of registrants were new NCI users, supporting broader access to national research infrastructure.
Participant feedback was highly positive, with a mean recommendation score of 9.0 out of 10. 98.6% of respondents said they would definitely or probably attend future QCIF training workshops.
The partnership demonstrated sustained national demand for practical, hands-on training in computational research methods. Feedback highlighted the value of clear instruction, reusable learning materials, applied examples and opportunities to practise during workshops. The final report also identified strong demand for future tiered training pathways, particularly in machine learning, deep learning, AI, data analysis, HPC, bioinformatics, geospatial analysis and climate data workflows.
The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) partnered with QCIF to deliver digital skills training in high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI). Serving both new and experienced NCI users, the collaboration expanded access to foundational and advanced digital research capabilities across the research sector.
QCIF delivered hands-on workshops covering essential foundations, including Unix shell, Git, Python, alongside machine learning techniques including, classification, regression, clustering, and convolutional neural networks. By combining NCI’s world-class computational infrastructure with QCIF’s proven expertise in digital research training, this initiative empowers researchers to build the skills they need to address complex, real-world challenges.
Our users found QCIF’s educational approach to be exceptionally practical and engaging. The Software Carpentry–inspired curriculum promoted participation from the attendees and encouraged an inclusive learning environment, helping to demystify complex topics for researchers across disciplines.
Zhuochen Wu, NCI Training Coordinator
Collaborating Organisations
Australian National University (ANU), National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), Dr Moji Ghadimi, Head, QCIF Applied AI & Quantum
