First Summer School on Quantum Technologies Started

Quantum technologies are currently making the decisive leap from basic research to market maturity and are considered one of the key technologies of the 21st century. This poses new challenges for the application-oriented education of engineers. The predicted demand in this area already exceeds the training capacities by far.

The University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien is therefore already intensively engaged in building up competencies for this technology segment. This week, the Quantum Technology Summer School at the UASTW is also dedicated to this future topic for the first time. Until Friday, August 19, more than 50 students together with tutors and experts from research institutions and companies will deal with various aspects of quantum technologies.

Fundamentals and first practical applications

“Prior knowledge was not necessary to participate in the Summer School. The event is an interdisciplinary project for which students from all four faculties of the University of Applied Sciences have registered. Here, the participants* have the opportunity to approach the topic without exam pressure and learning stress, can familiarize themselves with the theoretical basics of the technology and try their hand at the first practical applications,” explains Lukas Mairhofer from the Applied Physics competence field.

Top-class lecturers from industry and science

The Summer School has a dual structure: On the mornings, top-class lecturers from industry and science will provide insights into the fundamentals of quantum physics and current developments in the field of quantum computing and quantum cryptography. Besides the University of Vienna and the University of Innsbruck, the companies QMware, parity QC, qtlabs, Single Quantum, Infineon and IDquantique are represented.

In the afternoons, the students will continue to work on projects until the end of this week. They will deal hands-on with the exchange of quantum keys and the entanglement of quantum states, learn about the use of quantum random generators or program quantum algorithms. On Thursday evening, there will also be a Joint Conference Dinner with partner companies and media representatives.

The organizers of the UAS Technikum Wien are delighted with the enormous interest shown by students in the first Quantum Technology Summer School: the available places were fully booked within a few days. The topic will remain in focus even after the summer: For example, the Faculty of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics will be offering a course introducing quantum computing starting in the fall.