European researchers gathered at the Royal Institute of Engineers in The Hague, Netherlands, for the QIA Autumn Meeting 2024 to discuss progress and next steps towards building a global Quantum Internet made in Europe. QIA Director Stephanie Wehner welcomed principal investigators, team leads, and members from 41 world-leading institutions working together on this ambitious project.
The meeting kicked off with an awards ceremony, where Mafalda Jotta Garcia and Niels Bultink received the Innovation Award for their work on Qblox, a quantum-based innovation. Gerhard Rempe accepted the Best Paper Award for his research on assembling a quantum-network register using optical tweezers in an optical cavity. The meeting featured presentations from team leads on systems engineering progress, as well as a workshop on the relationship between scientific publication and patents led by Pere Arque Castells from the European Patent Office.
Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) Autumn Meeting 2024: Progress and Next Steps
The Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA), a consortium of 41 world-leading institutions, held its Autumn Meeting 2024 on October 15-16 at the Royal Institute of Engineers (KIVI) in The Hague, Netherlands. Principal investigators, team leads, and members from QIA partners across Europe gathered to discuss progress and next steps towards building a global Quantum Internet made in Europe.
Ceremony and Awards
The meeting commenced with a ceremony to reward teams that distinguished themselves for the most innovative project and the best paper. Mafalda Jotta Garcia and Niels Bultink received the Innovation Award for Qblox, while Gerhard Rempe accepted the Best Paper Award for the paper “A quantum-network register assembled with optical tweezers in an optical cavity” co-authored with Lukas Hartung, Matthias Seubert, Stephan Welte, and Emanuele Distante. The second places for both awards were given to Welinq and the paper “Design and demonstration of an operating system for executing applications on quantum network nodes” by C. D. Donne et al.
Progress Updates and Technical Sessions
Following the ceremony, individual presentations from team leads provided updates on the progress of QIA’s major work streams, including metropolitan, long-distance, stack and integration, architecture, and use cases. The plenary session concluded with a dedicated Innovation Team workshop on the relationship between scientific publication and patents. Pere Arque Castells, a special invited guest speaker from the European Patent Office, emphasized the importance of patents, unitary patent, and provided guidance to the audience: “Do both: Publish and Patent in the right order.” The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to technical work sessions on specific systems and subsystems of QIA’s prototype network, charting the next steps towards achieving its goals.
QIA’s Goals and Objectives
QIA aims to build the first full-stack prototype entanglement-based network and drive an innovative European Quantum Internet ecosystem capable of scaling all sub-systems to world-leading European technology. The consortium organizes two meetings annually: a spring gathering with all members and an autumn meeting for principal investigators, team leads, and specially invited members. The next spring meeting is scheduled for May 2024 in Innsbruck, Austria.
Building a Global Quantum Internet
The QIA Autumn Meeting 2024 demonstrated the consortium’s commitment to advancing the development of a global Quantum Internet made in Europe. By bringing together experts from leading institutions across Europe, QIA fosters collaboration and innovation, driving progress towards its ambitious goals. As the consortium continues to make strides in building the first full-stack prototype entanglement-based network, it is essential to address the complex technical challenges that lie ahead. The meeting’s focus on systems engineering, patents, and publication highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to achieving this vision.
Next Steps and Future Directions
The QIA Autumn Meeting 2024 set the stage for the next phase of development in the Quantum Internet Alliance’s journey. With its sights set on building a global Quantum Internet made in Europe, the consortium must continue to push the boundaries of innovation, addressing the technical, scientific, and patent-related challenges that lie ahead. As QIA looks towards its future directions, it is clear that collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and a commitment to excellence will be essential in achieving its ambitious goals.
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