The 37th CERN School of Computing visits Portugal: Apply now!

CERN is organising its summer School of Computing (see here) for the 37th time since 1970. CSC2014 (see here) will take place from 25 August to 6 September in Braga, Portugal.

 

The CSCs aim at creating a common technical culture in scientific computing among scientists and engineers involved in particle physics or in sister disciplines.

The two-week programme consists of 50 hours of lectures and hands-on exercises. It covers three main themes: data technologies, base technologies and physics computing, and it addresses in particular:

  • Many-core performance optimisation
  • Concurrent programming
  • Key aspects of multi-threading
  • Writing code for tomorrow’s hardware today
  • Storage technologies, reliability and performance
  • Cryptography, authentication authorisation and accounting
  • Data replication, caching, monitoring, alarms and quota
  • Writing secure software
  • Observing software with on attacker's eyes
  • Software engineering for physics computing
  • Statistical methods and probability concepts in physics data analysis
  • The Monte Carlo method
  • Multivariate analysis and visualisation
  • Hypothesis testing as exemplified by recent HEP discoveries


The CSC is not a conference but a true summer university. The focus is on delivering academic knowledge rather than know-how, which can be better achieved through training at home institutes. To maximise coherence and consistency, only a few lecturers participate, and all the non-CERN lecturers are university professors. Like any university, the CSC delivers a diploma. Since 2002, 672 students have successfully passed the final examination and received the highly recognised CSC Diploma.

In addition, since 2008, the quality of the CSC programme and lecturers and the examination process have been audited by the hosting university. In 2014, for the seventh consecutive year, the audit was successfully passed and successful participants will be awarded European credit certificate (ECTS) by Minho University.

Networking and socialization is the other goal of the CSCs. One vehicle for social networking is the CSC Sports Programme, which proposes two to three hours of sport every afternoon for those who are interested. Sport at the CSC is supported by the CERN Medical Service and is part of CERN's Move! Eat better programme.

Apply now! The deadline is 2 May.

by Alberto Pace, CSC Director