hpc-ch forum on Financial Aspects of HPC

Friday 10 Oct 2025, 09:30 → 16:50 Europe/Zurich

Aula Grüental, room number GA 203 (ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences)

Maria Grazia Giuffreda (CSCS), Pascal Häussler (ZHAW)

Overview:
The HPC-CH Forum is an annual event focused on the latest developments in High-Performance Computing (HPC) workflows and batch systems.

This year’s forum will bring together experts from academia, industry, and research institutions to explore the financial aspects of operating HPC infrastructures and delivering HPC/scientific computing services.

Participants will have the chance to engage with thought leaders and take part in interactive sessions designed to encourage collaboration and drive innovation within the HPC community.

Key Topics:

• Cost: Hardware and software licensing, data center facilities, service procurement and rentals, and more.

• Partners & Collaboration: Financial and vendor relationships, contract strategies, partnerships, and collaborations.

• Commodities: Energy efficiency, sustainable computing, and green HPC practices.

• Fundraising & Grants: Available funding sources, opportunities, requirements, and support for researchers.

• Cost Models: End-user pricing models, associated risks and opportunities, and competition from cloud providers.

• Value: Methods to assess the value of HPC services beyond just costs.

Who Should Attend?
The forum is designed for professionals engaged in HPC, including managers, finance officers, researchers, system administrators, software developers, and industry specialists.

It provides an ideal platform for those looking to deepen their understanding of the financial aspects of HPC and scientific computing services, while building a network with leading experts in the field.

Welcome Coffee & Registration

1 Welcome and Introduction

Speakers: Maria Grazia Giuffreda (CSCS), Pascal Häussler (ZHAW)

Wädenswil.jpg

Welcome.jpg

2 ZHAW School of Life Sciences and Facility Management: Overview, Computing and Challenges

The School of Life Sciences and Facility Management with its five institutes is briefly introduced. An Overview of the HPC services is presented and challenges regarding financial aspects are outlined as an introduction to the forum’s topic.

Speaker: Pascal Häussler (ZHAW)

Pascal Häussler.jpg

ZHAW_Presentation.pdf

3 CSCS Business Model for Partnerships

CSCS operates under different business models, ranging from big to small projects, and from academia to industry. Here we will explore the different ways we do it.

Speaker: Pablo Fernandez (CSCS)

CSCS_Presentation.pdf

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4 Flexible HPC Billing on UBELIX

We present the new HPC billing scheme at the University of Bern, developed for UBELIX and approved by SNSF and our researcher sounding board. The model combines free tiers with paid usage and investment options, ensuring fair access and sustainable growth.

Speaker: Christian Lehmann (University of Bern)

Christian Lehmann.jpg

University of Bern_Presentation.pdf

5 Celebrating 25 years of cluster “shareholder” model at ETH Zurich

For the past 25 years, all central clusters at ETH have been financed by their users. We will explain how this “shareholder” model works, its benefits and limitations, as well as the challenges imposed by the SNSF and ERC.

Speaker: Olivier Byrde (ETH Zurich)

ETH Zurich_Presentation.pdf

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6 Lunch and Networking

7 Community Development Session

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Community Development.jpg

8 Guided Tours

Guided Tour of Campus Grüental or Campus Reidbach

Please select your preferred tour during registration.

• Tour A (on campus Grüental where the conference takes place):
  Title: “Agricultural Photovoltaic (Agri PV) and Aquaponics”
  Origin: Institute for Environmental and Natural Resources Research (IUNR)
  More details: here and here

• Tour B (on campus Reidbach down the hill):
  Title: “The Future of Food”
  Origin: Institute of Food and Beverage Innovation (ILGI)
  More details: here and here

Tour A.jpg

Tour B.jpg

9 Farewell and End of the Meeting