By Elizabeth Leake (STEM-Trek)

Great news! Top500 announced the student cluster competition teams that will compete during the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) in Frankfurt, Germany June 16-20, 2019.

While the US didn’t send a team last year, it’s good to know that the U-Mass Green Team will be there!

If you read my two-part series in Top500 about the competition last summer, you may recall me noting that the US was a no-show. In 2012 when the contest was first launched, Germany, and two US teams prevailed. But from 2013 forward, South Africa, two Chinese universities, and Singapore have rallied, with South Africa winning the top honor for three out of the past seven years.

Since many US states and European countries have hosted student cluster competitions longer than others, their absence or failure to place in the top three inspired me to interview team leaders to find out why. I also interviewed winning teams to learn the secrets of their success.

Part one explored challenges faced by the individuals and schools that used to show and perform well, and part two provides insights about what the winning teams are doing right. There are lessons to be learned here!

Part One; The Obstacles of Fielding a Student Cluster Competition Team.
Part Two; The Anatomy of Winning Teams.

Cover photo: China’s Tsinghua University took the top prize in 2018 (2015 and 2017; and second in 16).