Kategorie: ‘Projects & Cooperations’
HPC Events 2026: From Basics to Simulation
Source: Own Illustration
High Performance Computing (HPC) plays a central role in many fields of research—from engineering and data analysis to the simulation of complex physical processes. The IT Center therefore regularly organizes workshops, training sessions, and community events focused on HPC to support researchers and students as they get started and further develop their skills.
In 2026, the event program once again offers numerous opportunities to explore topics related to high-performance computing, scientific programming, and numerical methods. Some events have already taken place, and many more are scheduled throughout the year.
KI:Inferenz.nrw Launches Offering for Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia
Source: Own illustration
The demand for powerful AI models at universities continues to grow rapidly. Applications such as chatbots and AI-supported services in the KI:connect environment are leading to more and more institutions using generative AI in research, teaching, and administration. At the same time, demand for locally operated open-source models is increasing.
RWTH Aachen University is currently testing several open-source models via KI:connect through the WestAI service center. The KI:Inferenz.nrw initiative was launched in January 2026 to provide universities in North Rhine-Westphalia with comprehensive access to open-source AI models in the future. It aims to provide universities in North Rhine-Westphalia with an infrastructure for the use of language models that is independent of the universities themselves.
DataStorage.nrw: Migration complete!
Source: Own illustration
The wait is finally over: the migration of research data to the new DataStorage.nrw storage system is complete. A total of approximately 2.7 PB of research data was migrated between July 2025 and January 2026.
In this blog post, we give you an overview of the migration process and the benefits it brings to researchers throughout North Rhine-Westphalia.
HPC Review 2025 – Developments, Collaborations and Highlights
Source: Own Illustration
For the High-Performance Computing (HPC) division at the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University, 2025 was marked by international exchange, practice-oriented workshops, sustainability initiatives, technological developments, and numerous activities related to HPC use and competence building. In this review, we summarize key events, projects, and successes.
Guests in git.nrw – A New Way to Collaborate
Source: git.nrw
In today’s digital world, effective collaboration is essential. The git.nrw project has therefore introduced a new feature: the ability to invite external individuals and make them git.nrw guests, granting them access to projects.
KI:connect.nrw: 2025 in Review
Source: Own Illustration
We have reported on KI:connect.nrw several times on this blog, most recently in October when it reached a milestone of over 350,000 potential users at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Now we look back on the year 2025, in which KI:connect.nrw has developed from a pilot project into a statewide AI infrastructure that covers almost the entire university landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The IT Center Year in Review 2025
Source: Freepik
2025 was a year full of change for the IT Center, both technically and organizationally, as well as on a human level. While new services were launched, major infrastructure projects were implemented, and digital work processes continued to converge, there were also many moments that enriched our everyday work. Whether new AI initiatives, important security measures, service updates, or team events: the year was marked by change.
In our annual review, we summarize the developments that had a particular impact and the highlights that accompanied us in 2025.
Review of SC25: HPC Highlights From St. Louis
Source: Own illustration
The Supercomputing Conference 2025 (SC25), one of the world’s most important conferences in the field of high-performance computing, took place this year in St. Louis, Missouri (USA). Under the motto “HPC ignites,” around 15,000 participants gathered to discuss current research results, technological developments, and future trends in supercomputing. The IT Center was represented by three participants, who took the opportunity to exchange ideas with international experts and gain valuable insights from the vibrant HPC community.
Workshop of the State Initiatives for Federated Identity Management
Source: Pixabay
On November 12 and 13, 2025, the biannual workshop of the state initiatives for federated identity management (IDM) took place at the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University. This year’s meeting was organized by the staff of the IDM.nrw project, which supports universities in North Rhine-Westphalia on their way to a state-wide, federated identity management system.
Representatives from Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, as well as from the German National Research and Education Network (DFN), came to Aachen to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and initiate joint developments.
WestAI: Review, Exchange, and Outlook – An Overview of the Consortium Meeting
Source: WestAI
The AI Service Center WestAI, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFTR, formerly BMBF), is one of four nationally funded AI service centers in Germany and is a central point of contact for applied artificial intelligence in North Rhine-Westphalia. The center aims to accelerate the transfer of AI research into practical applications and, in particular, to provide small and medium-sized enterprises and research teams with low-threshold access to modern AI technologies.
In this blog post, we take a look at the current role of WestAI, summarize the most important results of the latest consortium meeting, and provide an outlook on the further developments planned for the coming years.
