Project access Tier-1

Project application

Researchers at universities, the Flemish SOCs, and the Flemish public knowledge institutions can apply for Tier-1 compute time. The designated way to get access to Tier-1 for research purposes is through a project application. Applicants do not have to pay a contribution to the cost of computing time and storage.

The proposal should include a realistic estimate of the computing time needed in the project in your application. These estimations have to be substantiated by Tier-1 benchmarks. To be able to perform these tests for new codes, you can request a starting grant through a short and quick procedure.

You can submit proposals continuously, but they will be gathered, evaluated, and resources allocated at a number of cut-off dates. There are 3 cut-off dates in 2026:

• January 26, 2026

• June 1, 2026

• October 5, 2026

Proposals submitted since the last cut-off and before these dates are reviewed together.

The evaluation commission is responsible for the review of the applications. Because of the international composition of the evaluation commission, the language for the proposals is English. Please have a look at the definitions of standard terms like CPU, core, node-hour, memory, and storage, and use these consistently in your proposal.


The adjusted Regulations for 2026 can be found in the links below.

• Reglement Betreffende Aanvragen Voor Het Gebruik Van Het Vlaamse Tier-1 Supercomputing Platform (Dutch, applicable as of 1 January 2026) (PDF, 375 KB)

• Regulations Governing Applications For Use of the Flemish Tier-1 Supercomputing Platform (English, applicable as of 1 January 2026) (PDF, 287 KB)

• Enclosure 1: The application form for 2026 (docx, 98 kB)

• Instructions for the application form for 2026 (docx, 134 kB)

• An overview of standard terms used in HPC

• The list of scientific domains

• Submission is done via EasyChair

 

If you need help filling out the application, please consult your local support team

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Tier-1 Compute Starting grant

We offer a free trial to help you prepare a future regular Tier-1 project application. You should use it to verify that your software runs well on Tier-1 and to perform the scalability tests required for a regular project application.

 

Starting grant details

• Up to 500,000 CPU core-hours and 1,000 GPU hours can be requested.

• The allocated compute time must be used within 8 months.

• Applications can be submitted at any time; there are no cut-off dates.

• The compute time is provided free of charge.

 

Application procedure

1. Download the 2026 starting grant application form.

2. Send the completed application by email to the Tier-1 contact address (Hortense: compute@vscentrum.be;
   sofia: support@vscentrum.be), with your local VSC coordinator in cc.

3. Your application will be reviewed by the Tier-1 coordinator.

4. If approved, the Tier-1 coordinator will grant you access to the Tier-1 infrastructure and allocate the requested compute time.

5. If your application is not approved, you will receive a brief explanation of the decision.

6. Approved starting grants are published on the VSC website. Therefore, the application must include a short project abstract.

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Tier-1 Compute Collaborative grant

We offer consortia of research groups the opportunity to apply for a Collaborative Grant. This grant is aimed at stimulating collaboration between research groups in different research institutions. Characteristics of a Collaborative Grant ​

• A Collaborative Grant is awarded for a maximum capacity of 10 M core hours and/or 75 k GPU hours.

• The maximum period for use of the allocated computing time is twelve months.

• A Collaborative Grant can only be applied for by a consortium of at least three research groups from different Public Research Institutions with a clearly defined common research topic.

• Collaborative Grant applications can be submitted on a rolling basis.

Procedure to apply and grant the request
 

1. Download the application form for a collaborative grant, version 2026.

2. Send the completed application by email to the Tier-1 contact address (compute@vscentrum.be), with your local VSC coordinator in cc.

3. This Application shall, in particular, clarify why it is crucial for the consortium to apply for a Collaborative Grant and the proposed common research work cannot be carried out via one or more regular Applications.

4. The application is assessed for validity by the VSC operational team.

5. After approval, the operational manager of the respective Tier-1 compute partition grants access and computing time to the Researcher.

6. If the application is not approved, an answer with the justification of the decision is sent to the Applicant.

7. The granted requests are published on the VSC website and in the annual report. Therefore, you need to provide a short abstract in the application.