Enhancing engagement between MidPlus and industry

This project will establish a collaborative framework in which industry can access both High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities and industry standard commercial software packages in a commercially viable and sustainable manner. In particular, we will work with three software vendors (MathWorks, ESI and Wilde) to produce case studies demonstrating the competitive advantage to SMEs that can arise from access to quality software on HPC facilities. The project will also explore the options for more flexible licensing models that are consistent with HPC-on-demand, and will evaluate the scope for SMEs, particularly within the Engineering and Manufacturing sectors within the MidPlus region, to exploit HPC in improving their product design and development cycles.

The major impact of this project will be to enhance the ability of UK industry to compete within a global market by enabling industries to make optimal use of computational modelling, simulation and analysis to optimise their product design and their market strategies. We will achieve this by forging collaborations between MidPlus, and a provider of HPC facilities and key software vendors to enable industry to access the complete modelling package that best suits their needs. In the process, we shall work with the software vendors, catapult centres and the MidPlus partner Universities to provide effective knowledge transfer to relevant industry sectors and thereby ensure that they are well placed to exploit the opportunities provided by access to high-end e-Infrastructure without the prohibitive costs of establishing and mainting in-house HPC facilities.