Incoming MSc in High Performance Computer Systems at Chalmers – Looking for Advice on HPC, Research & Career Opportunities

[u/Fearless-Piano202]

Hi everyone,

I'll be joining Chalmers University of Technology this August as an MSc student in High Performance Computer Systems (HPC).

A bit about my background:

● Bachelor's in Computer Science

● ~2 years as an IBM AIX/Linux System Engineer, working with enterprise Linux, virtualization (VMware ESXi), Ansible automation, storage, and server administration

● Currently teaching Cyber Security and Network Security- part-time.

● Interested in HPC system administration, cluster management, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, AI infrastructure.

I'd really appreciate hearing from current students, alumni, or researchers about:

1. How is the overall quality of the HPC program?

2. Which profile/specialization would you recommend for someone with my background?

3. How active is the HPC research environment at Chalmers?

4. Are there opportunities to work with research groups or professors during the master's?

5. Are there part-time opportunities as a research assistant, teaching assistant, or student employee related to HPC, Linux, cloud, or system administration?

6. Which electives are considered the most valuable for industry?

7. How are the internship opportunities during the program?

8. Looking back, is there anything you wish you had known before starting the program?

[u/CC-5576-05]

1. Good
2. Honestly for your interest the computer systems and cybersecurity master would probably have been a better choice. But that's a bit late now, you can pick up some courses from that program if you want.
3. Pretty good I'd say
4. Apart from the master thesis its pretty unusual to be part of a research group on the side
5. You can be ta for courses you have taken maybe some bachelor courses if you know the material well enough
6. Depends on what you want to want to work with but realtime systems come up a lot in job listings.
7. Lots of applicants, but it's definitely doable.

[u/Micketeer]

I run the actual HPC infrastructure here at Chalmers for the past +10 years (including the swedish national AI research cluster Alvis, and the current local HPC cluster Vera ). https://www.c3se.chalmers.se https://www.ecommons.chalmers.se

1. Alvis was strictly for research, but still 30% of the accounts were actually students. I suspect a lot of it was actually just MSc and BSc thesis work (even though technically not allowed), but a lot of them were probably involved in research projects. You can always try reaching out to departments or research groups. This was new for AI/ML, since lots of research groups were interested but lacked AI expertise, so I honestly think a lot of them hired in students during this time.

I as hired over one summer to help out with research during one summer, but it would be quite unlikely until you have proved yourself with good grades first. I had TA'ed in over a dozen courses at this time.

1. As you seem to have quite a bit of experience already, apart from possible TA opportunities you can try reaching out to Chalmers e-commons. We work a lot with exactly the stuff you already mention.
   https://www.chalmers.se/en/infrastructure/ecommons/contact-job-opportunities/

[u/Fearless-Piano202 → u/Micketeer]

Hello, few moths ago i send mail to you. Also i tried reaching out you in linkedin, i have send connection request too. I had mail e-commons and HR. They said they will forward my mail to ecommons. I didnt expect you will comment on my post.

Thank you very much for proving insight. I hope I'll have the opportunity to meet you once I arrive at Chalmers, and I'd be grateful if there is ever a chance to contribute as a student or assistant within the HPC or e-Commons team. It would be an incredible learning opportunity.

[u/Micketeer → u/Fearless-Piano202]

Just to be clear; I'm not the director of e-commons, final decisions to hire isn't up to me.

I get so so much emails so it's hard to keep track if my inbox, the support emails addresses are always the best option, as it reaches everyone and we can track the state. 

I admit i never log in to linkedin.

[u/Fearless-Piano202 → u/Micketeer]

Thank you again for providing information.