ExCALIBUR-ECP exchange programme

The ExCALIBUR-ECP Hardware & Enabling Software Knowledge Exchange Programme provides financial support for exchange visits of personnel who have been involved in UKRI projects, and those from the USA . The programme has a particular focus on technical Knowledge Transfer aspects and the Hardware & Enabling Software (H&ES) pre-exascale testbed projects funded under the ExCALIBUR initiative.

Exchange visits

We provide support for travel and subsistence to enable US/UK exchange visits which can occur between February 2024 and March 2025. The overall objective is to help drive interaction between UK and US activities, facilitate knowledge exchange between programmes, and help set up future longer term collaborations.

Scope and eligibility

Costs, primarily for travel and subsistence will be supported (note that this programme does not fund staff time), up to £5000 per person per month. It is fine to apply for multiple people to be involved in your exchange visit, and we would usually fund up to one month duration. If your proposal requires a longer visit or costs other than T&S, then please contact to discuss. Applicants should be able to evidence involvement in either the ExCALIBUR or ECP initiatives, and UK participants should also be able to evidence that the exchange visit will link to at least one H&ES-supported activity (we can help with this if needed, please contact to discuss if that would be useful). Whilst this is open to all in UKRI projects, preference will be given to ExCALIBUR projects on the UK side and those who have been involved in US Exascale Computing Project (ECP) related activities, initiatives or follow on projects from the USA.

We also welcome applications that are looking to fund exchange visits to undertake community workshops, training, or other knowledge exchange activities.

What we expect from you

Successful applicants will be expected to complete a short report at the conclusion of their exchange, detailing the activities that have been undertaken and outcomes. Furthermore, a recorded presentation that summarises the visit is also required (this can be of a presentation made during the visit). Evidence must be kept to show how the awarded funds have been spent.

Application process

To apply for the programme you need to complete the Expression of Interest (EoI) form and email it to . This form also contains guidance for applicants which provides more detail on the requirements and describes how we evaluate applications. There is a monthly deadline of the 1st of the month, and we will aim to provide the decision and feedback within 2 to 3 weeks of this.

Questions?

We welcome questions from potential applicants, please contact us at . We also plan to run drop in Q&A sessions during the programme, and details of these will be posted here.

Workshops

We will be running a series of workshops in 2024 and 2025 to help scope out collaborations between the US and UK, as well as report on successful activities. The first of these will run in June 2024, and details will be posted here.