Using Python in an HPC environment

The course is given under NAISS and is a collaboration between UPPMAX, HPC2N, LUNARC, and InfraVis

This online 4-day workshop aims to give a brief, but comprehensive introduction to using Python in a Swedish academic High-Performance Computing (HPC) environment. It covers a wide range of levels in using Python and you can decide which days to follow.

If you are a complete beginner, perhaps the first day(s) is sufficient for you, but you may follow the other days as well for inspiration. If you already are a Python programmer you could still benefit from attending the HPC parts of the first day.

The goals of the different days are

Day 1 (summarized from all learning outcomes):

• Run Python on an HPC cluster
• Use variables, expressions and statements in Python

Day 2

• Load modules for site-installed Python packages
• Use and install python packages (pip and/or conda)
• Use virtual environments
• Ask for compute resources, write batch scripts for running Python
• Do basic analysis with Matplotlib in Jupyter

Day 3-4

• More about compute resources, including parallelism and GPUs
• Use Pandas and Seaborn,
• Big data and Python
• Use Python for ML/DL
• Guest lecture by Anders Hast and InfraVis introduction

This course will consist of lectures and type-alongs interspersed with hands-on sessions where you get to try out what you have just learned.

Remote/online participation: We will use Zoom. More information about connecting and about accounts and course projects and such will be sent to the participants close to the course. Tetralith at NSC will mainly be used for demos, but written material should guide users within academic Sweden on the resources they already are using.

• Prerequisites:

  • Day 1: none
  • Days 2-4: familiarity with the LINUX command line. Basic Python knowledge (as taught on day 1) is recommended

• Pre-requirements

• Prepare the environment

I'm used to Python but haven't used an HPC cluster. What to do?

• You need to:
  • be able to login to your HPC cluster
  • be able to start Python interpreter or run scripts.
• How to get these skills?
  • Please attend the Login session 9-10 Day 1 (Thursday 24 April)
  • Or be sure you can do the steps yourself

Preliminary Schedule:

Materials:

Day	Course materials	More information
1	Course materials	More information
2-4	Course materials	More information

Time and date: Thursday 27-Friday 28 November, Monday 1-Tuesday 2 December 2025, 09:00-16:00 each day

Location: ONLINE. Zoom link will be sent to participants a few days before the course.

Instructors: Birgitte Brydsö, Björn Claremar, Jayant Yadav, Pedro Ojeda-May, Rebeccas Pitts, Richèl Bilderbeek, Anders Hast(InfraVis)

Deadline for registration: TBA

Please register by filling in the form at TBA