Recent developments in quantum technology are bringing the world closer to a new technological revolution – the advent of usable quantum computers able to provide enormous acceleration to important computational tasks. In coming years, quantum computing is expected to have a significant impact on many areas of research that can utilise computational modelling. 

Significant efforts and investments are currently underway in Europe to bolster skills and capacity within quantum computing, as outlined in a recent ENCCS blog post (https://enccs.se/news/2023/06/european-hpc-quantum-computing-infrastructure/).

As a further step in that direction, ENCCS is now again joining forces with the Wallenberg Centre of Quantum Technologies (WACQT) and the Nordic/Baltic NordIQuEst project to deliver a three-day autumn school covering the fundamentals of quantum computing. 

WACQT is a national research programme, coordinated from Chalmers, that aims to take Swedish research and industry to the forefront of quantum technology. Their main project is to develop a high-end quantum computer that can solve problems far beyond the reach of the best conventional supercomputers.

NordΙQuEst brings together a consortium of seven partners from five Nordic and Baltic countries to connect world leading traditional HPC resources and quantum computers across national borders with the aim to establish a quantum computing platform customised to the needs of the region. CSC is one of the seven partners in the consortium.

In addition to WACQT and NordIQuEst, the school will also be visited by and contributed to by experts from Algorithmiq, a Finnish startup which aims to revolutionise life sciences by exploiting the potential of quantum computing to solve currently inaccessible problems.

The school will cover: 

• Introduction to key concepts: quantum states, qubits, quantum algorithms
• Overview of the main QC hardware approaches. 
• Overview of the QC software stack.
• Integration of QC with classical computing: hybrid classical/quantum algorithms and HPC-QC systems. 
• QC programming in high-level languages for use cases in optimisation, finance, life science and quantum chemistry.

Full Course description and registration can be found here:

https://enccs.se/events/2023-10-quantum-autumn-school