More than 100 organizations are joining forces to establish the European Quantum Academy, a new initiative designed to coordinate quantum technology education across the continent. The Academy will operate through six Regional Quantum Academies, spanning Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern and Iberian Europe, with a focus on building quantum skills beyond established hubs. This coalition aims to connect education from the classroom to practical application, according to Jacob Sherson, Director of European Quantum Readiness Center, Aarhus University, and EQA Coordinator, who highlights that Europe’s quantum sovereignty will not be secured in a limited number of elite labs. ICFO will coordinate the South-Western Europe RQA, steering efforts among ten institutions in Spain and Portugal to strengthen the regional quantum ecosystem as the initiative seeks to address uneven distribution of quantum capacity across Europe.
European Quantum Academy Coordinates Pan-European Workforce Development
The initiative, formally launched on June 11, aims to build a workforce capable of transitioning quantum computing, sensing, and communications technologies from research labs into viable commercial applications over the next four years. ICFO, a leading research center, will contribute its expertise in quantum science, outreach, and doctoral training to drive engagement and foster collaboration across the continent, while also strengthening the quantum educational ecosystem in Catalunya through the Catalan Quantum Academy. This geographically-focused approach is vital because current quantum capacity remains unevenly distributed, with a concentration of infrastructure and talent in only a handful of European countries. Concrete targets include training at least 600 quantum professionals to EQF levels 7 and 8 by the project’s conclusion, and delivering training to 5,000 learners overall, with a commitment to reserving 20% of student travel grants for individuals from underrepresented groups. Paraskevi Ganoti, Policy Officer of the European Commission, emphasizes that the EQA’s work is crucial for translating Europe’s research excellence into a workforce with the necessary depth and breadth to lead in quantum technologies globally.
Europe’s quantum sovereignty will not be secured in a handful of elite labs. It will be secured by connecting the full pipeline, from the classroom to the cleanroom, from first exposure in school to professional expertise in industry, across every region of the continent.
Jacob Sherson, Director of European Quantum Readiness Center, Aarhus University, EQA Coordinator
ICFO and Regional Quantum Academies Strengthen Quantum Ecosystems
The growing field of quantum technology is now accompanied by a coordinated push to cultivate the skilled workforce needed to translate research into practical applications. More than 70 partner institutions and over 100 organizations are actively collaborating through the newly launched European Quantum Academy (EQA), a body designed to address a critical gap in the European quantum landscape. The EQA is working to translate this into a workforce with the depth and breadth the sector will need over the coming decade.
Europe has the research excellence and the community to lead in quantum technologies globally. Translating that into a workforce with the depth and breadth the sector will need over the coming decade is the work the EQA is here to do.
Paraskevi Ganoti, Policy Officer of the European Commission
