Project description
Building a skilled EU workforce in quantum technologies
In the early 20th century, the first quantum revolution revealed mind-boggling effects of quantum mechanics. The onset of a new revolution in quantum physics in the 21st century leveraged these new physics rules and massively brought new quantum technologies to the market. This second revolution calls for an increase in the number of quantum-literate experts – not only specialists in physics but also mechanical engineers and business managers. Quantum literacy will help them interpret the implications of quantum technologies for their own context and maintain a competitive edge as technologies evolve. The EU-funded PQTEI project will employ and refine a free module used in (post-)secondary education so that industry employees can become acquainted with relevant aspects of quantum mechanics without the burden of advanced mathematics.
Objective
The onset of the “second quantum revolution” has catapulted quantum technologies from basement laboratories into the commercial sector. This has led to a growing need for an associated quantum-savvy workforce. Not all of these workers need to have formal post-secondary education in physics, as this revolution needs, for example, mechanical engineers and business managers as much as it needs quantum physicists. However, some quantum competence is immeasurably helpful when working within the field of quantum technologies. Therefore, in order to train this population of educated non-quantum-experts, we propose to develop a series of modules tailored to industry needs. These modules will be cost-effective means of rapidly bringing employees up to speed in the relevant aspects of quantum mechanics without the burden of advanced mathematics and time-commitment of traditional schooling.
For the purposes of this project, we will deploy an already developed introductory quantum module online for use in both secondary and tertiary education, free of charge. In parallel with this, we will work closely with our partners in industry to develop a more advanced and focused prototype of a custom module that will then be tested and refined in the corporate setting to meet the particular needs of our partner companies. The results from this project will be used to develop a roadmap for future commercialization that will maximize both the economic benefit (via collaboration with industry partners) and societal benefit (via collaboration with educational institutions) of our unique product.
Fields of science
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantHost institution
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark