Building central research computation facilities at London universities

What does it take to build a central research computing facility in a university setting? This session explores the practical, strategic, and cultural dimensions of establishing shared infrastructure for research computing in research performing organisations in London.

We’ll look at different models for centralisation, from incrementally scaled server racks to private cloud services and hybrid academic-technical teams. Topics include cost recovery, grant support, and the role of community-building in sustaining infrastructure. We’ll discuss how central facilities can support disciplines with distinct needs, including the arts and humanities, and how to embed functions like information governance and cybersecurity into research computing teams.

Our keynote speaker, Dr Ali Asadipour (Royal College of Art), will share insights from building a research computing centre from the ground up, including negotiating with industry partners, integrating with library and technical services, and creating hybrid academic-technical roles. His experience highlights the appetite for infrastructure in creative disciplines, and the challenges of translating that appetite into effective, scalable systems.

Programme

• • Welcome and Opening - by Mehdi Mehtarizadeh
  • Introduction to STEP-UP - Dr Arianna Ciula
  • Dr Ali Asadipour (Keynote) - Scalable and Sustainable Immersive Intelligence: Integrating AI, XR, and Green High-Performance Systems
  • Dr Richard Christie - Introduction to e-Research
  • Dr Lukasz Zalewski - OpenStack at KCL e-Research
  • Xand Meaden - Managing HPC at KCL: "fun" with Puppet, OpenLDAP, OpenStack and Azure
  • Stefan Meier - Building Reproducible Research Environments with Infrastructure as Code

This session will offer practical strategies and candid reflections on what works when building research computing capacity in a university.

Join us for lunch at 12:30 - the workshop begins at 13:00.