3rd ESiWACE3 Hackathon: Porting Earth System Models to the First EuroHPC Exascale System (JUPITER)

ESiWACE3 CoE - Simulation of Weather and Climate in Europe

Date & Location

• Dates: 21–23 October 2025
• Location: Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Jülich, Germany 
• Costs: There is no participation fee. ESiWACE3 will cover all costs related to the event, including catering during the hackathon and the hackathon dinner. However, participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.

Modality

Hybrid: In-person attendance is strongly encouraged to maximize collaboration and hands-on support. Online participation is an option only if on-site attendance is not possible. However, at least one member from each team must attend in person. Other team members may participate remotely if needed.

Scope and Objectives

This hackathon is designed for researchers and developers working with Earth System Models (ESMs) who are looking to prepare their applications for the first EuroHPC exascale supercomputer, JUPITER. The event provides an opportunity to work directly on porting and optimizing climate and weather models for this next-generation HPC system. You will have the chance to pick up advice and tips from HPC experts and fellow model developers in a friendly and supportive environment. This hackathon is a great opportunity to collaborate, troubleshoot, and refine your code with expert guidance. You will also work on addressing challenges in performance and portability, helping to prepare your Earth System Models for JUPITER.

JUPITER will be the first exascale system in Europe, featuring NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips. This event will provide hands-on experience in adapting ESMs to fully exploit JUPITER’s architecture.

Who Can Apply?

The hackathon is open to researchers affiliated with institutions in EuroHPC Joint Undertaking countries or Inclusiveness Target Countries. We encourage applications from teams of two to four members, with a mix of expertise in Earth system modeling and HPC performance tuning.

Teams should propose well-defined projects that can be realistically tackled within the three-day event. While expert HPC support will be available, participants should have a solid understanding of their codebase to effectively engage in the porting and optimization process. Preference will be given to open-source applications, and we strongly encourage applications from early-career scientists and researchers from under-represented groups.

Application and Registration

Interested teams must submit a short proposal outlining their project, including a brief description of the code or model, the specific challenges or goals for JUPITER adaptation, and the expected outcomes of participation in the hackathon.

Register through the online form available at: 

https://forms.office.com/r/RiC1BiCZRb

Prize

To reward the winning team and support further collaboration, the HPC services provider company Do It Now will sponsor €1500 to cover the expenses of attending an academic conference within Europe. This funding will help the winning team present their work and engage in valuable discussions at a relevant conference in Europe.

Important Dates

Application deadline: 30 June 2025
Notification of acceptance: 15 July 2025

Contact

For any questions regarding the event or for an informal chat about whether your idea might be suitable, feel free to reach out to the organizers at: bC56b3VAZnotanVlbGljaC5kZQ== or bC5ob2ZmbWFubkBmei1qdWVsaWNoLmRl

We look forward to your participation in this exciting opportunity to prepare Earth system models for the exascale era!