September 14, 2026 -- QDNL has awarded almost one million euros to teacher-trainer Rutger Ockhorst for phase 3 of his Quantum Lab project. With this funding, he can expand the Quantum Lab (QLab) at TU Delft’s Science Centre. In addition, the grant will fund a PhD research project on quantum education. 

The youngest generation

QDNL is a seed impulse of the Dutch National Growth Fund to establish and further develop an ecosystem for quantum technology in the Netherlands. This includes human capital, with one of the action lines focusing on the youngest generation. That means developing education for everyone under 18; primary and secondary schools. The main activity is setting up a Quantum Lab for secondary-school pupils.  

Quantum Ready

In phases 1 and 2 this project began as an expansion of the Science Centre’s PWS Lab, aimed at supporting profile project work. Together with teacher Silvester Infante Ferreira, Rutger started the QLab by purchasing experimental setups focused on quantum pedagogy as well as developing new ones. Currently, the QLab is open for two days a week, where secondary school students can work on their experiments and projects under supervision of Infante Ferreira.  

Parallel to the development of the QLab, Rutger Ockhorst and his colleague Lodewijk Koopman designed a lesson module for the school subject NLT called ‘Quantum Ready!’, offering havo-pupils a gateway into quantum technology. “By comparing quantum processes to well-known examples from biology and everyday live, the concept of a quantum sensor becomes more tangible”, Ockhorst explains. “For instance, the eye could be framed as being a single photon detector. Quantum technology is a way to emulate such a system. Another example would be quantum sensors sensitive to changes in magnetic fields, similar to how migratory birds use the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.” 

A day of experiments

For phase 3, €990,000 has now been awarded to further develop the QLab Delft. That will enable Ockhorst and his colleagues to expand the lab significantly. For example, the purchase of a Bell-test with entangled photons is high on their wish list.  

Ockhorst: “In addition to single-student projects, we’ve started offering groups of about 20 students a half-day experience where they work through a series of quantum experiments, either linked to the NLT module or as preparation for their final exams. Next year we aim to welcome at least 250 pupils at the QLab. The target for the end of phase 3 is to grow to 350 visiting students yearly. By that time, all the experiments will have been incorporated into a quantum escape room which is currently being designed by Silvester and teaching assistants Martijn Sonneveld, Emma Aspeslagh Nielen and Lotte Sikkema.”

Didactics of quantum tech

In addition to teaching activities, the phase‑3 funding allows Ockhorst to start a PhD research project on quantum education. Using a foundational and authentically Delft quantum experiment, he plans to map how students and pre-service teachers make sense of quantum phenomena in semiconductors. The team will use the findings to guide further development of the QLab. The PhD will be supervised by Freek Pols and Anna Hotze of the Science & Engineering Education department and Sander Otte of the Quantum Nanoscience department.