2026 ASC Student Supercomputer Challenge (ASC26)

Call for Participation!

Dear New and Returning Friends of ASC:

The ASC Committee is thrilled to announce the official launch of ASC26! We warmly welcome college students and educators from around the world to join us in the world’s largest and most inspiring supercomputing challenge, a global celebration of innovation, teamwork, and scientific excellence.
Please click here to register.

The detailed timeline for ASC26
Online
Registration
Nov. 6, 2025 - Jan. 12, 2026
  • A confirmation letter, including the Team Account Number and Password, will be sent to the Team Advisor upon successful registration, officially marking your team’s entry into the ASC26 journey!
Preliminary
Competition
Jan. 13, 2026 - March 4,2026
  • Each team is required to submit a comprehensive proposal that includes their results, application code optimizations, and their Team Account Number. The ASC Evaluation Committee will carefully review all submissions and select the top finalist teams based solely on academic merit and technical excellence, recognizing creativity, teamwork, and innovation!
Final
Competition
May 16-20, 2026

Finalist Teams will design and build their own supercomputing clusters on-site, execute cutting-edge AI and HPC benchmarks, optimize real-world applications, and present their final results before the distinguished ASC Evaluation Committee.

  • Benchmark Test: Run a suite of AI and HPC benchmarks on your custom-designed cluster to demonstrate performance and efficiency.
  • Application Tasks: Refactor and optimize several designated applications, with on-site guidance from ASC Evaluation Committee experts.
  • e-Prize Task: Take on an exclusive challenge by refactoring and optimizing a specially selected application.
  • Poster & Presentation: Showcase your results and present your technical achievements to the ASC Evaluation Committee in a professional style setting.Prepare to showcase your skills and impress the judges!
Basic Rules for ASC26 Participation
  • Universities are warmly encouraged to participate in ASC26 with multiple teams, fostering broader student involvement and collaboration.
  • Only one team per university will be selected to advance to the ASC26 Finals, presenting their institution on the global stage.
  • Each team should consist of five undergraduate students and one faculty advisor who will guide and mentor the team throughout
Important Notes
  • All deadlines are set at 24:00 (UTC/GMT+08:00) — be sure to plan your submissions accordingly!
  • ASC sponsors will generously provide computing platforms for all finalist teams to build and test their clusters.
  • Teams should indicate their intent to participate before the registration deadline by completing the sign-up form, and also finalize team members when submitting the preliminary proposal.
  • Eligible students are welcome to compete on an ASC team as long as they have not completed four full-time academic years by the time the final competition teams are confirmed.
Don't miss this incredible opportunity to challenge yourself, collaborate globally, and showcase your supercomputing talent to the world!
ASC Awards & Honors
ASC proudly recognizes outstanding teams through a series of prestigious awards that celebrate excellence, innovation, and teamwork in supercomputing:
  • Champion
    Awarded to the team achieving the highest overall performance.
  • Silver Prize
    Presented to the runner-up team for exceptional performance.
  • Group Competition
    Honors the group for best collaboration and teamwork.
  • e-Prize
    Recognizes remarkable achievement in a specialized application task.
  • Highest LINPACK
    Awarded to the team for the top LINPACK benchmark.
  • Application Innovation
    Celebrates groundbreaking application optimization.
  • Most Popular Team
    Determined through public voting, this award honors the team that wins the hearts and support of the audience.
  • Best Presentation Team
    Given to the university team with the highest score for clarity, professionalism, and communication in their final presentation.
  • First Class Prize
    Recognizes teams that demonstrate outstanding results across multiple competition categories.
  • Second Class Prize
    Presented to teams showing strong overall performance and commendable achievements.
Interested? Please click here to register before January 12, 2026.