(18) The Joint Undertaking should address clearly defined topics that would enable academia and European industries at large to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing, and to establish an integrated infrastructure across the Union with world-class High Performance Computing capability, high-speed connectivity and leading-edge applications and data and software services for its scientists and for other lead users from industry, including SMEs and the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should make efforts to reduce the specific HPC-related skills gap. The Joint Undertaking should prepare the path towards building the first hybrid High Performance Computing infrastructure in Europe, integrating classical computing architectures with quantum computing devices, e.g. exploiting the quantum computer as an accelerator of High Performance Computing threads. Structured and coordinated financial support at European level is necessary to help research teams and European industries remain at the leading edge in a highly competitive international context by producing world-class results and their integration in competitive systems, to ensure the fast and broad industrial exploitation of European technology across the Union generating important spill-overs for society, to share risk-taking and joining of forces by aligning strategies and investments towards a common European interest. The Commission could consider, upon notification by a Member State or group of Member States concerned, that the Joint Undertaking’s initiatives qualify as Important Projects of Common European Interest, provided that all relevant conditions are met in accordance with the Community Framework for state aid for research and development and innovation (25).

(18) The Joint Undertaking should address clearly defined topics that would enable academia but also and European industries at large to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing, and to establish an integrated infrastructure across the Union with world-class High Performance Computing capability, high-speed connectivity and leading-edge applications and data and software services for its scientists and for other lead users from industry, in particular, micro-enterprises, SMEs and start-ups and the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should make efforts to reduce the specific HPC-related skills gap , encouraging qualification, HPC-related career choices and offering special programs to encourage balanced representation of men and women in the HPC career paths . The Joint Undertaking should prepare the path towards building the first hybrid High Performance Computing infrastructure in Europe, integrating classical computing architectures with quantum computing devices, e.g. exploiting the quantum computer as an accelerator of High Performance Computing threads. Structured and coordinated financial support at European level is necessary to help research teams and European industries remain at the leading edge in a highly competitive international context by producing world-class results and their integration in competitive systems, to ensure the fast and broad industrial exploitation of European technology across the Union generating important beneficial spill-overs for society, to share risk-taking and joining of forces by aligning strategies and investments towards a common European interest. The Commission could consider, upon notification by a Member State or group of Member States concerned, that the Joint Undertaking’s initiatives qualify as Important Projects of Common European Interest, provided that all relevant conditions are met in accordance with the Community Framework for state aid for research and development and innovation (25).