December 19, 2025 -- To celebrate the UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the EPFL QSE Center helped create the first-ever Swiss Quantum Week, a series of events bringing together members of Swiss academic institutions, the Swiss quantum industry, and science diplomacy.

100 years ago marked the beginning of the field now known as quantum science. To commemorate this revolution and its impacts, UNESCO declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. This year has been celebrated with events around the world, from conferences to art shows to youth outreach. Although Switzerland is a small country, it has an outsized impact in quantum science and technology, and it was important to the members of the diverse Swiss quantum community to create a series of events of its own, which became the Swiss Quantum Week.

This weeklong series of diverse events from October 13-19 in Geneva and Lausanne that brought together a range of stakeholders on many topics relating to quantum science and technology. The events of the week were the biannual Swissnex Quantum Summit, the annual Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland (QIDiS) conference, the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) Summit, including the Open Quantum Institute (OQI) workshops, a Quantum Hackathon organized by QAI Ventures, and EPFL’s Journée de la quantique outreach event.

“The Swiss Quantum Week 2025 united policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, students, and ecosystem builders in a unique platform for collaboration and exchange,” says EPFL QSE Center Executive Director Philippe Caroff, who spearheaded the creation of the Week. “By encouraging participants to step beyond their core expertise, the event showcased Switzerland’s vibrant quantum ecosystem on the global stage. Equally important was engaging the wider public. Quantum technology sparks immense curiosity, and leaving society out of the conversation would mean that our mission was incomplete. That’s why the Journée de la quantiquewas dedicated to sharing our passion through hands-on experiences, aiming to ignite in young people a future interest in a technology destined to shape their lives.”

“It was a win-win”

The week began with the Swissnex Quantum summit at EPFL’s Biotech Campus in Geneva, bringing together nearly 100 key ecosystem builders from countries such as Austria, Canada, India, and of course Switzerland, to discuss how to accelerate breakthroughs and shape the quantum economy.

It was opened by Ambassador Jacques Ducrest, Head of the International Relations Division at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI); Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, the President of EPFL; and Nicolas Gisin, President of the Swis Quantum Commission. It continued with panel discussions, flash talks, keynotes, and conversation cafés on topics such as “Developing talent across borders” and “Enabling funding for international collaboration”.

“Swiss Quantum Week was greater than the sum of its parts, as it allowed us to attract high-level quantum actors from around the world for a week of aligned events,” says Brendan Karch, Head of Programs and Deputy CEO at Swissnex. “At Swissnex, where our mission is to forge international connections, we were happy to use our global network, and those of our Swiss partners, to convene quantum ecosystem builders from around the world. The people who came could in turn contribute to industry and policy events later in the week. It was a win-win.”

Many of these same participants joined the GESDA Summit from October 15-17, which brought together around 1,000 researchers, diplomats, ministers, representatives of the private sector and philanthropists to discuss the challenges posed by new technologies, including quantum, and their impact on people's lives.

“The Swiss Quantum Week is a brilliant platform to bring together our international partners and opinion leaders, both from science and private sector,” says Marieke Hood, Executive Director of Impact at GESDA. “Having them all here in Switzerland, we are able to advance our joint work incomparably.”

The Open Quantum Institute (OQI), a multilateral governance initiative to promote global and inclusive access to quantum computing for the benefit of humanity, hosted its annual meeting at the GESDA Summit. This meeting included a workshop on applying quantum approaches to address complex computational problems aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where QSE Center Academic Director Vincenzo Savona shared his experiences working on a use-case for sustainable food production. There were also workshops on capacity building OQI methodology.

“The Swiss Quantum Week acted as a key focal point for the quantum community, where researchers, policymakers, industry and academia exploring how to steer quantum technology to societal benefit could resonate and amplify their initiatives,” says Tim Smith, Coordinator of OQI. “Through OQI’s active participation in panels and workshops at the GESDA Summit, we showcased our global collaboration efforts and how we are sustaining the momentum of the International Year of Quantum beyond 2025.”

Having these two international events taking place in the same week also provided the opportunity for meetings between Switzerland’s Quantum Centers, international delegations, and members of industry.

A focus on quantum industry

In between the Swissnex and GESDA summits was the Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland, an annual event that brings together over 600 members of Switzerland’s thriving quantum industry and academia with inspiring keynote talks, panel discussions, and networking opportunities to foster exchange and accelerate the development of new quantum products.

The day was co-organized by the EPFL QSE Center along with the ETH Quantum Center, NCCR Spin, Innosuisse, the Europe Enterprise Network, and members of industry such as ID Quantique, CSEM, IBM, and Zurich Instruments, supported by the Swiss Quantum Initiative.

Along with panels on topics such as quantum computing, quantum instrumentation, and quantum careers, nearly two dozen companies were on-site to meet one another as well as members of the academic and policymaking communities. In addition, a dedicated “B2B” lunch gave participants the opportunity to set up one-on-one meetings to make new connections and spark collaborations.

“Swiss Quantum Week highlighted the strength and collaborative spirit of the Swiss quantum ecosystem," says Moritz Kirste, Head of Business Development at Zurich Instruments. "I had the pleasure of attending both the Swissnex Quantum Summit, with its discussions on international collaboration, and the Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland, with a large, energetic crowd. It allowed us at Zurich Instruments to connect with policymakers, industry, and academia, and to showcase our roadmap alongside other Swiss industry players in shaping the future of quantum technology.”

“La quantique pour grand public”

While the Swiss Quantum Week had a lot to offer those already involved in quantum – be it through industry, academia, or government – it was also important to the organizers that there was an event aimed at the larger public, in particular older kids and teenagers. The day was organized by the EPFL QSE Center along with the Quantum Centers of ETH Zurich, the University of Basel, and the University of Geneva, as well as the School of Life Sciences at FHNW.

“It was a vibrant celebration of quantum science, packed with conferences, interactive shows, quizzes, and hands-on demonstrations,” says Caroff. “There were more than 80 scientific animators sharing their expertise and passion with families enjoyed exploring practical demonstrations of quantum technologies.”

The day, entitled “Atome, énérgie, lumière : La quantique pour grand public” took place at the SwissTech Convention Center on the EPFL Campus on Saturday October 18. The all-day event featured conferences, over 20 educational and interactive booths, a quantum show, a quiz, and dedicated workshops for pre-teens and teens.

Conference speakers were Laurent Schafer, journalist and author of the graphic novels Quantix, Cosmix, and Infinix, who gave two interactive presentations and signed his books; Thierry Giamarchi, a professor from the University of Geneva who demonstrated the laws of physics using cards and magic tricks; and two EPFL professors, Cristina Benea-Chelmus and Vincenzo Savona, who explained the role of light in quantum physics and the promises of quantum technology, respectively. The day was opened by EPFL President Anna Fontcuberta i Morral.

“My 13-year-old daughter loved Laurent Schafer's talk,” said one of the visitors who came with their family. “She found it easy to understand for her age and exciting in the way it was presented.”

The booths covered many topics, including quantum computing, quantum alogirthms, photonics, and practical applications of quantum technology. They were organized by labs from all the co-organizing institutions and were animated by researchers and students who gave explanations in French and English.

“Overall, I really appreciated the efforts made at all the booths to make things concrete with equipment, experiments, and demonstrations,” said another visitor.

Throughout the day, there were over 1000 visitors of all ages. Some came with their children, while others came on their own, simply eager to learn about the kind of research being done at EPFL and other universities in Switzerland.

“It was essential to showcase the full breadth of Swiss quantum expertise,” adds Caroff. “That’s why we partnered with the quantum centers in Basel, Geneva, and Zürich to co-organize the event and bring their delegates and experiments to Lausanne. We hope this success inspires similar initiatives across Switzerland, and when that happens, we’ll be ready to support them. The audience is definitely there, and they’re asking for more quantum!”

“The power of interdisciplinary collaboration”

The Swiss Quantum Week ended with a three-day GenQ Quantum Hackathon at CERN, hosted by QAI Ventures. Part of a series of three QAI Ventures Hackathons in Canada, Singapore, and Switzerland, the hackathon in Geneva brought students together to focus on using quantum AI to tackle real-world challenges focused on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of “Good health and well-being”. The challenge tracks were medical image classification, air quality forecasting, and mRNA folding, and organizers were able to leverage the Hackathon’s inclusion in Swiss Quantum Week to bring startups, researchers, and policymakers to interact with and mentor the ‘hackers’.

“Our GenQ Quantum Hackathon at CERN showcased the power of interdisciplinary collaboration by uniting experts, researchers, and entrepreneurs to explore emerging quantum computing applications in the life sciences,” says Tobias Denzler, Head of Science and Technology at QAI Ventures. “Events like the Swiss Quantum Week show how collective efforts advance the quantum ecosystem, and we remain committed to fostering innovation and building bridges across sectors.”

While this first Swiss Quantum Week was inspired by the UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, co-organizers of the week are already preparing for a second edition in 2026.

“The success of this first Swiss Quantum Week proves how vital it is to keep the momentum going,” says Caroff. “Quantum technologies will shape our economy, science, and society for decades to come, and Switzerland must remain at the forefront. That’s why we’re already preparing for the next edition in October 2026—building on this year’s achievements and creating even more opportunities for collaboration, learning, and public engagement. We look forward to meeting again and taking Swiss Quantum Week to the next level.”