The field of quantum information and technology is rapidly advancing and changing. Equipping Canada’s quantum workforce with hands-on, real-world experience is critical.

The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo continues to be a world-leader in building and studying quantum technologies. The institute also partners with leading tech companies to help expand their research and has recently signed an MOU with Xanadu., with the intention to help further develop Xanadu’s educational programming.

“At IQC, our researchers are world-leading, and our students are already creating cutting-edge technologies. We are looking forward to the possibilities of developing educational programming alongside Xanadu that can be used to help train the next generation of the quantum-ready workforce,” says Norbert Lütkenhaus, executive director, IQC.

The partnership was announced at IQC’s Quantum Connections conference on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

“We’re excited to partner with a globally recognized institute and hope to help prepare, advance, and grow the future of Canada’s quantum talent pipeline," says Rafal Janik, Xanadu, Chief Operating Officer.

Xanadu, a leading Canadian quantum computing company on a mission to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere, intends to collaborate with IQC on research and educational projects utilizing hardware and software developed by Xanadu.

IQC and Xanadu plan to work together to build short modules on quantum computing and quantum software programming, supported by Xanadu’s academic engagement team and researchers at IQC. These modules could include helpful tools such as PennyLane and Xanadu Quantum Cloud.

IQC and Xanadu also plan to continue to cooperate on internship opportunities for IQC graduate students in both the Collaborative Graduate program in Quantum Information and the MSc Physics - Quantum Technology specialization program.