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Shaping the future workforce: Challenges and lessons learned in HPC education from national labs and computing centers

Workshop: 12th SC Workshop on Best Practices for HPC Training and Education

Authors: Patrick Diehl, Ying Wai Li, and Christoph Junghans (Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)); John K. Holmen, Elijah MacCarthy, and Suzanne Parete-Koon (Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)); Yun He, Rebecca Hartman-Baker, Charles Lively, Kevin Gott, and Lipi Gupta (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)); Kristina Streu, Yasaman Ghadar, and Paige Kinsley (Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)); Jane Herriman and Erik W. Draeger (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory); Victor Eijkhout (Texas Advanced Computing Center); and Susan Mehringer (Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing)

Abstract: Workforce training at national laboratories and computing centers is essential and typically falls into two categories: foundational training for newcomers and advanced training for experienced users. Foundational topics such as version control, build systems, and basic HPC usage are widely transferable, while center-specific training varies with compute platforms and workflows. Emerging technologies span both categories, ranging from broadly applicable programming paradigms to hardware-specific skills.

To reduce redundancy and increase impact, national labs, computing centers, and vendors can collaborate by sharing and co-developing materials, co-presenting, and offering joint training events. Such coordination enhances accessibility, scalability, and consistency in HPC training across the community.

One example is the HPC Training Working Group, a community of teaching enthusiasts that meets monthly to exchange best practices, share challenges and solutions, and develop training materials. Their collaborative initiatives highlight the value of cross-institutional efforts in strengthening HPC workforce development.

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