The UK Research and Innovation’s National Federated Compute Services (NFCS) NetworkPlus Flexible Fund recently awarded funding to Dr Tariq Umar, Senior Lecturer in Construction and Project Management, at the School of Architecture and Environment, UWE Bristol, to lead a major new project. Titled “Enhancing HPC adoption through user-centred design: A roadmap for inclusive innovation in environment, health, and the built environment”, the initiative will help shape a more accessible, trusted, and user-friendly future for the UK’s high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.
HPC systems are essential for tackling data-intensive challenges in fields such as climate science, healthcare analytics, and digital construction. However, professionals in these sectors often face barriers to adoption – including complex access processes, limited awareness, and usability issues. This project addresses these challenges by exploring the full user journey, from applying for HPC access to working with technical systems and evaluating collaboration models.
Dr Umar is joined by co-investigators, Dr Kwok Chun and Professor Jim Smith, also from UWE Bristol’s College of Arts, Technology and Environment. The interdisciplinary team brings expertise in environmental science, interactive artificial intelligence, and sustainable construction. Together, they will lead a series of workshops, surveys, focus groups, and training events with stakeholders across the built environment, environmental sciences, and NHS sectors.
“Our goal is to put users at the heart of the future HPC ecosystem. We want to understand not just what prevents access, but what a truly inclusive, scalable HPC system would look like from the perspective of real-world users.”
– Dr Tariq Umar –
Working in partnership with Imperial College London, National Taiwan University, the Vatican Observatory, Coventry University, Istanbul Technical University, and Arcadis Consulting UK, the project will also explore issues of trust, governance, and international interoperability.
The project’s outcomes will include a co-designed roadmap, actionable recommendations, and user personas to inform a more inclusive and future-ready national HPC federation, aligning with UKRI’s goals for sustainable digital research infrastructure.
The project runs from July 2025 to June 2026 and is part of UWE Bristol’s ongoing commitment to inclusive, interdisciplinary innovation in science and technology.
If you are from the built environment, environmental sciences, and health or NHS sectors and want to know more about project, or would like to get involved in the project workshops, focus group discussion or training activities, then please get in touch with project lead, Dr Tariq Umar (tariq.umar@uwe.ac.uk).