Research & Education e-Infrastructures for Development Prof. Roberto Barbera (roberto.barbera@ct.infn.it) University of Catania & INFN - Italy Workshop on «Developing Lebanese National Research and Education Network» Beirut, 21.10.2011

Outline The path to the adoption of the e-Infrastructure paradigm: Awareness & Information; Training; User Support; The EPIKH project and its opportunities for Lebanon; Summary and conclusions.

The Global Network

The Global Grid Teragrid/XD EGEE/EGI OSG EELA/ GISELA DEISA/ PRACE NAREGI EUMEDGRID BalticGrid SEE-Grid EU-IndiaGrid EUAsiaGrid EUChinaGrid DEISA/ PRACE EGEE/EGI SAGrid

e-Infrastructure at «world» scale >340 sites in 57 countries ~337,000 CPU cores >220 million GB of storage ~1 million jobs/day ~20,000 users in ~280 VOs How can Lebanon join all this ?

Path to the uptake of the e-Infrastructure paradigm Training User Support

The CHAIN Knowledge Base (www.chain-project.eu/knowledge-base) Largest e-Infrastructure related knowledge base. Information dynamically available for about half of the countries of the world.

The CHAIN Knowledge Base (www.chain-project.eu/knowledge-base) RREN(s) NREN NGI CA(s) Id.Fed(s) ROC(s) Grid site(s) Application(s)

Wanna get started with NRENs ? (www.terena.org)

Wanna get started with NGIs ? (knowledge.eu-egi.eu)

Wanna get started with CAs ? (www.eugridpma.org) This is already happening! Two Registration Authorities have been appointed yesterday at St. Joseph University. 12

Wanna get started with Identity Federations ? (https://refeds.org)

The CHAIN Knowledge Base (www.chain-project.eu/knowledge-base)

Wanna get started with Grid site installation? (www.africa-grid.org)

The CHAIN Application Database (www.chain-project.eu/applications) You can run them directly from the browser!

Wanna get started with Grid applications? (applications.eumedgrid.eu)

The Triangle of Knowledge Research & Development t-Infrastructure e-Infrastructure Education & Training Innovation Building e-Infrastructures is a waste if we don’t “build”, at the same time, their users. Along with e-Infrastructures, t-Infrastructures and training programmes are also needed.

The EPIKH Project (www.epikh.eu) “Exchange Programme to advance e-Infrastructure Know-How” (EPIKH) EU FP7- Marie Curie Actions – People - International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) Consortium “numbers”: 23 partners; 18 countries; 4 continents (Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America); 115 persons involved; >650 researcher-months; >500 secondments; Duration: March, 1, 2009 – February, 28, 2013 (48 months) EC contribution: 1,188,000 €

The EPIKH Partners (http://wiki. epikh. eu/index. php

The EPIKH goals Strategic aims: Specific actions: Reinforce the impact of e-Infrastructures in scientific research defining and delivering stimulating programme of educational events, including Grid Schools and High Performance Computing courses; Broaden the engagement in e-Science activities and collaborations both geographically and across disciplines. Specific actions: Spreading the knowledge about the “Grid Paradigm” to all potential users: both system administrators and application developers through an extensive training programme; Easing the access of the trained people to the e-Infrastructures existing in the areas of action of the project; Fostering the establishment of scientific collaborations among the countries/continents involved in the project.

EPIKH secondments’ programme 1st Phase: Non-EU → EU (selected) Res. Programs 2nd Phase: EU → Non-EU Grid Schools (with 1st phase tutors) Final Workshops

75 grant requests received so far; 63 selected Trainer List of CVs and profiles Trainee

90 secondments done so far (http://wiki. epikh. eu/index. php

EPIKH events in the world (http://wiki. epikh. eu/index. php

More than 12 new Grid sites already installed in EPIKH Schools (1/2) 1-week tutorials for site administrators (with remote installations) More than 12 new Grid sites already installed in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Next one will be in Amman on 28/11-9/12 EPIKH Schools (2/2) Grid Schools 2 entire weeks devoted to applications’ “gridification” call for applications widely open A total of 24 1-month Grid & HPC schools and related thematic workshops foreseen in the period 3/2009 - 2/2013. Next one will be in Amman on 28/11-9/12 and the call for applications is still open: http://applications.epikh.eu/survey Everybody is welcome!

List of already “gridified” applications (http://wiki. epikh. eu/index Total = 53

Project «highlights» Basically, all the training done so far by CHAIN, EU-IndiaGrid2, EUMEDGRID-Support and GISELA projects has been carried out in the context of the EPIKH Grid schools and EPIKH is now considered as the most important training provider in the Grid world; EPIKH has been included by the EuroAfrica-ICT project among the “FP6-FP7 Success Stories” of the development of ICT in Africa; EPIKH has been mentioned as “an example to follow for monitoring and encouraging local scientific applications to fight the digital divide” in the final recommendations made by the high-level stakeholders of the 6th Conference on “Sharing Knowledge across the Mediterranean” which was held on 6th-8th of May 2011 in Malta www.partager-le-savoir.org/template/fs/malte2011/RecommendationsSKF.pdf

«Breaking news» Thanks to the successes obtained by EPIKH since its beginning, the European Commission is willing to authorize EPIKH schools/secondments also in/from countries not belonging to the project consortium; New schools are already being organized in Colombia and Ecuador and other requests have been received from: Argentina, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Taiwan, Uganda, and United Arab Emirates, Is Lebanon interested in organizing a school, under the patronage of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and/or to send brilliant young researchers to Europe to learn and work on e-Infrastructures ?

Summary and conclusions e-Infrastructures are: changing the way to do scientific research; allow to tackle unprecedented challenging multi-disciplinary problems; are considered key enablers of the progress of a country; It is very important that Lebanon could join this community building an e-Infrastructure in the country; Along with the creation of the NREN, first steps could be to: Start the creation of a Lebanese Certification Authority for e-Science and a national Identity Federation; Organise a local training and/or participate to the EPIKH Grid schools that will take place in Jordan in Nov/Dec with the aim to: Set-up a pilot site in the country and join the EUMEDGRID infrastructure; Start “gridifying” and deploying some champion applications on the EUMEDGRID infrastructure; Identify a few brilliant young researchers to be seconded abroad with EPIKH-funded research programmes to raise competencea and develop new skills and curricula. You’re not alone in this endeavour. ASREN, CHAIN, EPIKH, EUMED-CONNECT and EUMEDGRID are willing to help and support you.

Thank you very much ! Any questions ?