About The University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities, supporting thousands of researchers across a broad range of academic disciplines.
High-performance computing forms a critical part of the University’s digital research infrastructure, enabling complex simulation, modelling, AI training and data-intensive research that would otherwise be impossible using conventional computing resources.
As AI adoption continues to accelerate across higher education, the University recognised the need for an HPC platform capable of supporting both today’s research priorities and future innovation.
The Challenge
Research at the University of Leeds is becoming increasingly data intensive, with growing demand from disciplines including engineering, medicine, environmental science, artificial intelligence and digital humanities.
However, the University’s existing HPC environment was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Ageing infrastructure, older software stacks and limited GPU capability meant demand from researchers was beginning to exceed available capacity, while operational complexity continued to grow.
The University of Leeds wanted more than simply a hardware refresh. It was looking for a long-term partner that could deliver a modern HPC platform while helping develop internal capability, improve researcher experience and support future growth in AI-enabled research.
Hear the Story Behind the Project
Hear directly from the University of Leeds and MTI as they discuss the University’s HPC transformation, the challenges they set out to solve and how the new platform is helping to support the next generation of research and AI innovation.
David Baldwin
Director of Digital Research, University of Leeds
Dr Patricia Ternes
Research Software Engineering Manager, University of Leeds
Tim Beeby
Higher Education & Research Client Director, MTI
The Solution
MTI designed and delivered a modern high-performance computing platform in partnership with Dell Technologies and Cambridge Research Computing. Dell Technologies supplied the enterprise infrastructure, Cambridge Research Computing provided specialist HPC implementation, optimisation and knowledge transfer, while MTI led overall programme delivery, commercial management and customer engagement.
Throughout the project, the three organisations worked as one team, ensuring the University received not only a technically robust solution but also the operational support and expertise needed to maximise long-term value.
The Outcome
The new HPC platform gives researchers across the University of Leeds the compute capability needed to support increasingly complex workloads across engineering, environmental science, medicine, AI and digital humanities.
Delivered through the combined expertise of MTI, Dell Technologies and Cambridge Research Computing, the platform provides a scalable foundation for future research while strengthening internal capability through ongoing support and knowledge transfer. The project is already helping to:
- Accelerate Research
- Build Long-Term Capability
- Support Future Growth
Hear from the Researchers
Discover how the new HPC platform is supporting research across the University of Leeds, with insights from leading academics on the impact it is already having on AI, digital media and computational research.
Professor Simon Popple
Professor of Digital Media Cultures, University of Leeds
Professor David Hogg
Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Leeds
Â
The Impact
- Trustest partnership across MTI, Dell Technologies and CRC with combined expertise
- Modern HPC platform supporting AI-ready research
- Increased compute and GPU capacity to deliver faster results with accuracy
- Improved researcher experience to enhance the university experience and service usage
- Reduced operational complexity to decrease ongoing service costs
- Knowledge transfer supporting long-term independence and staff retention
- Platform designed to scale with future research demand and reduced lead times
- Single commercial and delivery model to reduce complexity
Why MTI?
Following a competitive tender process, the University selected MTI because of its ability to bring together the right combination of technology, specialist expertise and delivery capability.
Working alongside Dell Technologies and Cambridge Research Computing, MTI provided a single delivery model covering procurement, commercial management, project delivery and governance, ensuring the University benefited from a fully integrated solution rather than managing multiple suppliers independently.
Beyond delivering the infrastructure itself, MTI helped establish a partnership focused on long-term success, combining enterprise technology with specialist HPC expertise and ongoing knowledge transfer to help build capability within the University’s own team.
Whether you’re exploring High Performance Computing for the first time or planning your next research platform, our specialists are ready to help.