From Student SIG to Success: The journey of a student HPC Special Interest Group towards sustainable training and success in Student Cluster Competitions

Volume 16, Issue 1 (March 2025), pp. 43–49

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@article{jocse-16-1-9,
  author={Bryan Johnston and Lara Timm and David Macleod and John Poole and Lily de Melo and Sayfullah Jumoorty and Jonathan Faller and Reinhard Jansen van Vuuren and Michael Beukman},
  title={From Student SIG to Success: The journey of a student HPC Special Interest Group towards sustainable training and success in Student Cluster Competitions},
  journal={The Journal of Computational Science Education},
  year=2025,
  month=mar,
  volume=16,
  issue=1,
  pages={43--49},
  doi={https://doi.org/10.22369/issn.2153-4136/16/1/9}
}

This paper provides an overview of the student HPC Special Interest Group (SIG) formed at the University of the Witwatersrand that focuses on delivering HPC training to the undergraduate student community. The paper outlines the approach towards growing and maintaining the interest group, including teaching and learning strategies to prepare Wits students for Student Cluster Competitions. Insights into the challenges experienced and lessons learned are discussed, particularly with respect to sustainable workforce development. These insights could help develop a structured framework for creating effective and sustainable HPC special interest groups, centred around student involvement.