A recent article in Nature highlights the issues with Quantum Education. Quantum is an entire industry, but it’s still nascent, and we are potentially a long way from some of the purported benefits. The fundamentals are sound, but Quantum will feel like a potential solution without a real problem for many. However, as the field and Quantum Tech Industry progresses, more and more people are looking at how to educate themselves in all things quantum.
“A lot of people don’t want to enter the industry until they see the technology is robust, but can we make it robust without them?”
IBM physicist Olivia Lanes.
Quantum Technology Education and Industry Growth
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, offers an undergraduate degree in quantum engineering, preparing students for the emerging quantum-technology industry. The industry, which includes companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft, is developing devices that use quantum properties to execute complex algorithms. Quantum technology could revolutionise industries like pharmaceuticals and electric vehicles by enabling more efficient and accurate simulations. However, there is a shortage of qualified job candidates. To address this, universities are starting quantum-training programmes. IBM physicist Olivia Lanes emphasizes the need for workers from various educational backgrounds in the quantum-tech industry.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, has introduced an undergraduate degree in quantum engineering. This programme is designed to prepare students for the emerging quantum-technology industry, which is developing devices that use individual atoms, electrons, photons and other components exhibiting quantum properties. These properties allow quantum computers to execute types of algorithm that are not easily accessed by conventional computers.
The quantum technology industry is expected to take at least a decade to develop commercially useful quantum computers. However, many industries, including pharmaceutical companies and electric-vehicle manufacturers, are exploring the use of quantum computers for tasks such as chemistry simulations for drug discovery or battery development. Quantum computers are thought to more efficiently and accurately simulate molecules, which are inherently quantum mechanical in nature.
“It’s a difficult degree. There’s a lot of physics, a lot of maths and a lot of engineering, all of it combined together,”
William Papantoniou
The Need for Quantum-Trained Workers
The quantum-technology industry is growing rapidly, with governments and technology companies around the world investing billions of dollars. However, there is a shortage of qualified job candidates. The industry predominantly hires researchers with physics PhDs, but the need for workers with undergraduate training in relevant quantum topics is increasing.
The quantum-tech industry will need workers with various educational backgrounds to benefit society. In response to this demand, some universities are starting quantum-training programmes at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels. These programmes aim to train engineers who work directly with quantum devices and require a relatively deep understanding of quantum mechanics.
“I can now teach quantum mechanics in a way that is far more engaging than the way I was taught quantum mechanics when I was an undergrad in the 1990s,”
Physicist Andrea Morello.
Quantum Engineering Education
The UNSW’s quantum-engineering programme is built on the framework of a conventional electrical-engineering degree. Students take largely the same course as do non-quantum engineers, but with extra, quantum-specific classes. The programme is designed so that its graduates could still choose to work as conventional electrical engineers.
The quantum courses at UNSW originate from master’s classes. These have required academics to rethink how they teach quantum mechanics. The conventional approach comes from a theoretical physics perspective, which centres on understanding the behaviour of idealized quantum objects. However, the new approach uses real-world examples and teaches the mathematics behind quantum mechanics in a more computer-friendly way.
“A technology can’t succeed if the only people who know how to use it are PhDs,”
IBM physicist Olivia Lanes.
Quantum Technology Companies and Education
Quantum-computing companies are helping to develop quantum education directly. Companies are offering teaching resources for undergraduate educators. For example, IBM’s Qiskit and Google’s Cirq are open-source software packages that anyone can use and build on. For those who have left university, contributing to this software offers a path into a quantum-computing-related job.
“We simply cannot produce PhDs fast enough to satisfy the needs of this booming industry”,
Physicist Andrea Morello.
The Future of Quantum Technologies
The future of quantum technologies is still uncertain. Quantum communications, such as creating and delivering encryption keys encoded in single photons, is theoretically more secure than current cryptography techniques. However, these technologies have delivered mixed results in practice. Existing quantum computers still make too many errors to be able to execute commercially valuable algorithms.
Despite the uncertainties, students like William Papantoniou, a third-year student at UNSW, see the uncertain future of quantum technologies as an opportunity. He plans to enter the quantum-technology industry after graduation, and is particularly interested in the development of algorithms for quantum computers.
“It was presented as the future of computing,” says William Papantoniou. “They described how quantum computing makes complex problems simpler.”
“I managed to transfer from my old job at IBM doing web development into a full-time member of the Qiskit community team,”
Abby Mitchell.
Summary
The quantum technology industry, which includes quantum computers, magnetic sensors and atomic clocks, is growing and requires workers with various educational backgrounds, not just PhDs. Universities are responding to this need by offering quantum-training programmes at undergraduate and master’s levels, preparing students for a range of roles within the industry.
“It’s a chicken-and-egg problem” in some ways.
IBM physicist Olivia Lanes.
- The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, offers an undergraduate degree in quantum engineering, which prepares students for the emerging quantum-technology industry.
- Quantum technology includes quantum computers, magnetic sensors, and atomic clocks. Quantum computers can execute algorithms that conventional computers cannot easily access.
- Industries such as pharmaceuticals and electric-vehicle manufacturing are exploring the use of quantum computers for tasks like chemistry simulations for drug discovery or battery development.
- There is a growing demand for workers with various educational backgrounds in the quantum-tech industry. Universities are starting quantum-training programmes at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels.
- The UNSW’s quantum-engineering programme is built on the framework of a conventional electrical-engineering degree, with additional quantum-specific classes.
- Quantum-technology companies, including IBM and Google, are helping to develop quantum education directly by offering teaching resources for undergraduate educators.
- The commercial value of quantum technology is still unclear, but the skills acquired in quantum engineering can be used in short-term technologies, such as quantum sensing.
“At this point, nobody really knows what a quantum engineer is. But in ten years’ time, they will.”
William Papantoniou