By: Michael Feldman

A free online course on the basics of supercomputing will be available on August 28 for anyone who signs up this month.

Developed by the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) and the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC), along with support from SURFsara in The Netherlands, the five-week course will provide an introduction on the nature of supercomputers and how they are being used to solve real-world problems. Topics to be covered include supercomputing terminology, computer hardware fundamentals, parallel computing, the utility of digital simulations, and supercomputing case studies. Estimated study time is three hours per week.

The course is designed for HPC novices or anyone interested in the technology. It’s not intended for someone who needs to learn the ins and outs of parallel programing, MPI, or anything deeply technical. There is no requirement for any kind of programming expertise, although a background in this area will probably help drive home some of the unique aspects of supercomputing applications.

Access to the course is free for 14 days, regardless of when you sign up. A €69 upgrade lets you refer to course material for an unlimited time. The upgrade also give you access to tests. If you score over 70 percent on the tests and 90 percent on the course steps, you qualify for a certificate.

The course is being offered via the FutureLearn website. Additional information, as well as the course sign-up is available here.