How the WHPC Travel Fellowship Transformed my ISC Experience
Author: Sarah Johnston
One year ago, I was nervously hovering over the submit button on the ISC webpage trying to get the confidence to share my work in the hopes of attending ISC for the very first time. Little did I know at that time that that simple decision would open up an incredible world of opportunities, people, and experiences that would show me how ‘super’ supercomputing really is.
As a student, presenting work is both scary and wonderful, but presenting with WHPC was a fantastic experience throughout. The WHPC poster scheme is not just about the piece of paper on the board, but its also about developing your skills and gaining experience in presenting complex technical ideas to people from all kinds of HPC backgrounds.
From the very beginning, you get offered the opportunity to be mentored by a HPC professional who can help you make your poster presentation worthy and will advise you on how to give the best possible lighting talk to go alongside it. I was lucky enough to be partnered with the wonderful Katerine, who guided me through creating eye-catching visuals for my poster and practised my flash talk with me over and over (and over!) again until I felt like a smooth professional delivering it. All the WHPC poster presenters had the chance to come together in an online webinar to practise our talks and get feedback from other presenters and mentors ahead of the conference itself.
I was incredibly lucky to also be a WHPC Travel Fellow for ISC25, which provided me with a whole host of extra fantastic opportunities. Not only did I get the incredible financial support to be able to attend the conference itself – which as a PhD is so crucial in me accessing these opportunities I couldn’t otherwise afford – but I got some amazing chances to really make the most of the ISC experience. Delivering a Tech Talk at the Solutions Forum Theatre as part of the opening night of the Exhibition was incredibly exciting, and seeing the amount of people who stopped by to hear me talk really got me enthusiastic to make the most of my time at the conference. Presenting alongside the other amazing speakers, surrounded by all the exhibitors (and a lot of good food!) felt like a surreal daydream and it would not have been possible without the Travel Fellowship. I also had the opportunity to participate in interviews with some of the media partners and talk about my journey into HPC and the research I do.
ISC truly is a conference like no other – but there was no greater feeling than collapsing into bed at the end of each day with aching feet but a brain buzzing with ideas and excitement. Attending really cemented for me that HPC is where I want to be working. I made so many incredible connections and memories that have inspired me to work even harder to get to keep on being part of this amazing community.
So if you are like I was last year, hovering over that submit button wondering if you should give submitting a poster a go then all I can say is to do it – you never know where you’ll be a year from now!
WHPC Poster Submissions for ISC 2026 are open now. WHPC’s ISC Travel Fellowships will be awarded to selected Poster Session participants. Travel Fellowships include up to £3000 of reimbursable travel expenses and opportunities to present at WHPC ISC events. The poster submission deadline is January 22nd 2026 11:59 AoE.