The DiRAC Training Program
At DiRAC, we believe one of the facility’s most important responsibilities is to offer its user-base comprehensive training. A well-trained user-base increases the volume and complexity of research that can be carried out and means we can use systems that are closer to the edge of technology, which in turn means that more and better research can be carried out.
The DiRAC training program has been designed to guide users along a path from very little knowledge to a really good understanding of HPC code development. We recognise that our users predominantly fall into two categories: those who run existing codes, and those that develop and enhance codes, so we have broken up the training into 5 levels of increasingly advanced content.
We do not expect all users to complete the whole program but we do require all new users with less than 2 year’s experience to complete Level 1: Essentials, and the accompanying on-line test by the end of their first year. The program as a whole has been designed so that all new users of HPC systems would benefit from the first three levels, with researchers involved in code development progressing beyond Level 3 as an when the content becomes useful to their Research.
Each level has a corresponding body of material associated with it and currently these resources are sourced from academic institutions and the general IT community. We are still in the process of populating Levels 2 – 5 but we expect these to come on-line as the year progresses
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DiRAC – Essentials: An introduction to the key skills needed when using the UK National DiRAC HPC Service and a building block for the further levels.
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DiRAC – Researcher: This level will give users the skills to run codes on any DiRAC system.
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DiRAC – Advanced Researcher: This level tackles the challenges of replicating another code or advancing your own.
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DiRAC – HPC Developer: This level provides the skills needed to start creating robust, well structured and efficient code.
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DiRAC – Expert Practitioner: This will enable users to use these codes as efficiently as possible.
