The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER), has launched the research and development project FERICA (FER Initiative for Chips and Architectures) , focused on the design and implementation of the first Croatian microprocessor based on the open RISC-V architecture - FRISCV . The objective of the project is to develop several iterations of a Croatian RISC-V processor and to manufacture them in European semiconductor foundries. After fabrication, the developed chips will undergo thorough testing and verification, covering the entire processor development lifecycle – from the initial concept and architectural design, through the design of individual components, to fabrication and evaluation of the complete system together with its peripherals.
Daniel Hofman, an associate professor and member of the team, has been awarded the Award for Innovations and Technology Transfer by the University of Zagreb for the academic year 2024/2025, specifically in the category of the most successful technology transfer.
The European Processor Initiative (EPI) https://www.european-processor-initiative.eu/ , a project with 30 partners from 10 European countries, with the goal of achieving Europe’s independence in HPC chip technologies and infrastructure, is nearing the finishing line, at the end of a two-stage run. The project team will attend the Supercomputing 25 , premier global event in the HPC and AI fields, to be held from November 16-21 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. As a part of the EPI team at the booth #4410 , Proactive Compute , a new spin-off from University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (UNIZG-FER), will be ready to discuss and showcase two of its key IP’s FAUST and FEVER .
European Processor Initiative, project performed by 27 partners from 10 countries, held its second edition Forum event in Paris, on Oct 6-7. The event was hosted by the magnificent Les salons de l’Hôtel des Arts & Métiers with a hundred attendees.
The European Processor Initiative held a codesign workshop on September 10 and 11, in Heraklion, Greece. This two-day workshop brought together leading researchers and industry experts to explore the future of high-performance computing in Europe. Key topics included performance analysis with EPAC, next-generation chip architectures (Arm, RISC-V), chiplet technologies, and reliability challenges. The program featured keynotes on energy-efficient computing and exascale systems, alongside project experiences from projects closely collaborating with EPI (including EUPEX, EUPILOT, and DARE). Prof. Kovač, who is also the Chief Communication Officer for EPI, as well as group representative in all these other projects for HPC FER, held a presentation related to FAUST© FPU, designed by HPC FER Center researchers.
From May 21 to May 23, 2025, the 32nd edition of Dani otvorenih računarskih sustava / Croatian Linux Users’ Conference were held in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the oldest and biggest regional conference that covers free and open source software, open standards, and the Linux operating system. Director of HAARC, Mario Kovač, attedned as a keynote speaker.
Pofessor Mario Kovač, Chief Communication officer of the European Processor Initiative, and the Director of HAARC, attended the EuroHPC JU Summit that took place from March 18 to March 20, 2025, in Krakow, Poland.
As Europe pushes for greater technological self-sufficiency, DARE SGA1 will play a pivotal role in shaping a fully European HPC and AI stack—delivering innovation, efficiency, and security for research and industry alike. The Digital Autonomy with RISC-V in Europe , Special Grant Agreement 1 (DARE SGA1) project is officially launching the first phase of a groundbreaking initiative to strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) . Supported by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking , and coordinated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) , DARE SGA1 unites 38 leading partners from across Europe to develop next-generation European processors and computing systems, including an optimized software ecosystem, designed for research and industry applications.
The University Computing Center of University of Zagreb (SRCE), as the coordinator of NCC Croatia, in collaboration with its partners, hosted the second edition of the Croatian HPC Competence Centre Day , that took place November 12-13, 2024 in Zagreb. Prof. Josip Knezović presented HPCAARC, its activities and projects.
Director of HPCAARC reserach center, prof. Mario Kovač, talked at a workshop held this week at the Institute of Physics
The 2024 ACM Europe Summer School on “HPC Computer Architectures for AI and Dedicated Applications” took place in Barcelona from the 2nd to the 6th of September 2024. Distinguished scientists in the HPC field gave lectures and tutorials addressing architecture, software and applications for HPC and AI.
On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, HPC team participated in FER's PhD Day by hosting the WORK @ FER booth. At the booth, HPC researchers presented doctoral study and employment programmes to FER's bachelor and master students, encouraging students to consider these opportunities.
Daniel Hofman, member of the HPCAARC team, was awarded "Rikard Podhorsky" award, that is given annually by the Croatian Academy of Engineering to members with significant contribution in engineering in technical and biotechnical sciences, as well as for achieving goals and contributing to the programme of the Academy. As part of the award ceremony, awarded memebrs participated in a mini conference organized by the Academy - cohesive factor of technical and biotechnical sciences and Croatian economy. The conference was held on June 3, 2024.
This year's ISC24 team was “Reinventing HPC into ISC 2024” and it was attended by more than 3,400 people in the Exhibition part, with more than 160 exhibitors at their respective booths. HPC Team went as part of the European Processor Initiative, together with colleagues from EUPEX and EUPILOT porjects, to hold the booth at the fair and participate in the Brids of Feather Session organized by all three projects.
On May 15-16, 2024, Šibenik, Croatia was the host of the 9th EUSAIR Forum – part of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, which was presided over by Croatia in the last months. The Forum offered a distinctive chance to explore final results of the revision of the EUSAIR, its Action Plan and governance architecture.
