NeSC Training Activities Mike Mineter [e-mail] NeSC UK Training Manager

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NeSC Training ActivitiesMike Minetermjm_at_nesc.a
c.ukNeSC UK Training Manager
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Overview

• NeSC training
• Objectives
• What weve done so far
• Imminent UK training activities
• Observations some of what weve learnt in the
  last 6 months
• Plans

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NeSC training mission

• Enabling, facilitating and delivering quality
  training in the UK and Internationally

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Dominant Training requirements

• For users
• Orientation
• Use of middleware
• For operations / sites
• Installation
• Resource centres
• Networking

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Training is vital!!

• Technology is (generally) released from a small
  number of people in one location
• Goal many users in many locations
• Need to make this feasible and scalable

users
Early trainers
Routine training
Repository web-based
developers
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Objective Gaining new and effective users
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NeSC training The story so far

• Quality events since NeSC opened
• The NeSC training team was formed in April 2004
  to build on this tradition
• Grown to five trainers
• Supported by EU (EGEE), UK core e-Science
  Programme, and Research Council grants (PPARC)
• Leader Prof. Malcolm Atkinson
• EU training manager David Fergusson
• UK training manager Mike Mineter

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Major activities since April

• Initial emphasis was on EGEE (also April
  start-up)
• Leading and coordinating EGEE training activity
• Building collaboration across training teams
• Establishing relationships with technology
  developers and operations teams
• Delivering training in UK and Europe
• Creating repository of training material
• Attention also now turning to UK
• NGS, GOSC and also OMII and JISC

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Courses delivered

• The training team has directly delivered
• 5 training events in the UK
• (35 trainees - advanced)
• At NeSC and the University of Stafford
• For JISC and EGEE
• 6 training events in Europe
• (183 trainees introductory/advanced)
• At CERN, FZK Karlsruhe, CNB Madrid, Lithuania and
  Italy.
• GGF Summer School
• Also dissemination presentations to introduce
  people to the concept of the grid

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Training event types

• Induction
• EGEE and Q1, 2005 NGS, OMII
• Advanced users
• WS, portals,
• Operations - Sites and Regional Ops. Centres
  NeSC role facilitation, to date
• LCG-2 / EGEE-0 installation
• Rhys Newman, Oxford Ruediger Burlich, Karlsruhe
  Flavia Donno, CERN
• Web services deployment
• Hong Ong (Univ. of Portsmouth) and Ariel
  Goyeneche (Univ. of Westminster)
• Workshops
• hosted Condor week, GOSC/NGS meeting
• On demand
• GT3 for example
• Future Training trainers
• Based on experience of training events

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Training event types

• Induction
• EGEE and soon NGS, OMII
• Advanced users
• WS, portals,
• Operations - Sites and Regional Ops. Centres
  NeSC role facilitation, to date
• LCG-2 / EGEE-0 installation
• Rhys Newman, Oxford Ruediger Burlich, Karlsruhe
  Flavia Donno, CERN
• Web services deployment
• Hong Ong (Univ. of Portsmouth) and Ariel
  Goyeneche (Univ. of Westminster)
• Workshops
• hosted Condor week, GOSC/NGS
• Future Training trainers
• Based on experience of training events

In collaboration with e-Science centres, user
communities,... across the UK
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Imminent UK training activities

• Two-day induction for NGS users
• Dry-run December 9-10th
• Modules will be made available via NeSC
  repository (1Q 2005)
• Willing to contribute to training at the UK
  eScience centres and other centres of excellence
• WSDL and UML for JISC e-Learning
• Web Services
• December 16-17th
• WS-RF February 2005

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Proposed NGS Induction

• What is grid computing
• Concepts, world-wide, EU and UK
• EGEE induction
• Security, AAA
• LCG-2 /EGEE-0 middleware
• Practical with GENIUS / GILDA
• Operations, (human) networking, middleware
  activities (WS and gLite)
• Overview of
• NGS
• OGSA-DAI
• Oracle service
• SRB
• NGS Portal

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Overview

• NeSC training
• Objectives
• What weve done so far
• Imminent UK training activities
• Observations some of what weve learnt in the
  last 6 months

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Observations

• Event goals must match reality so an event is a
  point of departure for participants
• Useability, reliability, sustainability are key
  goals of NGS and EGEE but trainers need to set
  expectations accurately whilst the infrastructure
  is established.
• Modes of training
• Scope for group-work, more interactive
• Modes of learning
• Different people like to learn in different ways
  seen most intensely in practicals
• Developers are recognising need to support
  training
• But scalability is an issue hence trainer
  training and repositories are vital!

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Need for a training Grid

• For EGEE, GILDA is hosted by Univ. of Catania
  (led by Roberto Barbera)
• For NGS? May initially rely on the production
  system
• Also, installation courses
• Massive requirements for hardware
• 20 people, LCG installation course ideally 100
  PCs !

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Feedback

• We use forms to rate
• Achievement of goals (stated in event
  announcement)
• Quality of each talk
• Free text comments often most useful
• Might also try multiple choice exam
• Reinforce learning
• Objective assessment of what is communicated /
  remembered

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Event statistics

• Need KPIs
• From participants
• Numbers
• Number of organisations, disciplines, countries
• Summary of feedback
• But really need caution before comparing
  assessments (whether between talks or between
  events)

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Involvement in research projects

• In order to maintain a high level of technical
  awareness the members of the training team are
  actively involved in research projects linked to
  NeSC
• BRIDGES
• EDINA and NERC Grid/GIS Working Group

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Future plans for NeSC training

• EGEE tomorrows talk by David Fergusson
• Education contributing to the e-Science MSc at
  Edinburgh University from next October
• Installing a training grid for EGEE and NGS
• Deliver widening spectrum of events
• Repository
• Our material is available for re-use - but
  please with attribution and with feedback and
  statistics of use, via methods to be
  determined!!
• We include non-NeSC material too! same
  conditions would apply
• More on this tomorrow!
• This event is a sign of our commitment to
  cooperate and collaborate in establishing
  training across the UK