Regional cooperation is a key driver for advancing high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence across Southeast Europe. By connecting national competence centers, research institutions, and industry partners within the broader European HPC frameworks, these efforts extend beyond national boundaries, enabling joint training activities, shared expertise, and better integration of local infrastructures into the European HPC and AI ecosystem.

Recently, we welcomed our colleagues from NCC Montenegro to Belgrade and took the opportunity to speak with Bojana Mališić. The experiences shared by Bojana illustrate how national initiatives contribute to a broader, coordinated effort to build a competitive and innovation-driven HPC and AI landscape. She explained the role of the NCC Montenegro through the EuroCC project phases 1 and 2.

During the first phase (EuroCC 1), the focus was on raising awareness of HPC technologies among SMEs, as well as the broader community. The goal was to present the benefits of HPC resources and demonstrate how they can be applied in practice. As an example of successful implementation, she highlights a project carried out by Fortissimo, which involved the use of artificial intelligence in agriculture and was recognized as a European success story.

In the second phase (EuroCC 2), the objective is to further engage companies–the process begins with assessing the HPC maturity of companies using a dedicated assessment tool, to evaluate their awareness and readiness to adopt these technologies. This is followed by Info Days, workshops, and training sessions in HPC, artificial intelligence, high-performance data analytics, and parallel programming.

Bojana emphasizes that companies are increasingly aware of the benefits of HPC. The NCC Montenegro provides them with access to infrastructure and expert support, including consultations with Yotta Advanced Computing, as well as access to European resources such as the Daedalus, LUMI and Leonardo supercomputers.