The seminar was aimed at advancing quantum education and fostering collaboration with Korean universities, while providing access and hands-on training on IQM Academy, a free online quantum training course, and IQM Resonance, a cloud quantum platform.

Over 30 students from top Korean universities, including Seoul National University, Korea University, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Chungbuk National University, Kyunghee University, and others participated in an engaging hands-on workshop using IQM’s educational tools.

The interactive session and networking opportunities, including hands-on trials and running the sample circuits on a real quantum computer, inspired and motivated the students.

The lead lecturer for the seminar, Dr. Kristine Rezai, who is the Technical Pre-Sales Engineer at IQM for North America, provided an introduction to IQM Quantum Computers, shared some of the technology challenges IQM is tackling, and guided the students through running algorithms on IQM’s cloud-based quantum computers.

With a national quantum strategy, South Korea aims to become a global quantum hub by 2035. The country has sets clear targets, including training of 2,500 quantum experts and an additional 10,000 quantum-skilled professionals by 2035.

In addition, the country aims to develop a 1,000-qubit universal quantum computer using superconducting architecture by the early 2030s, alongside fostering for the formation of 1,200 quantum technology companies, which is backed by startup grants, R&D access, and dedicated innovation zones.

“Our association for student clubs dedicated to quantum information science, and we aim to promote academic exchange and improve accessibility in quantum computing theory.

“During the seminar, the students were very excited about using the real quantum computer and getting the result form codes. And they would like to have these hands-on sessions more often in South Korea,” said the President of QISCA, SungBin Lee.

IQM’s Country Manager for South Korea, Youngsim Kim, explained that while there are advanced researchers in specific fields like quantum physics and quantum information science, there is a critical shortage of specialised personnel in various fields, including application engineers, software developers, and system integrators, who can apply quantum technologies to industrial settings and commercialise them.

“Even if companies want to integrate quantum technologies into their services or products, they struggle to find practical talent capable of implementing and operating them. We must rapidly develop a quantum engineering workforce, and to this end, IQM’s educational and developers platforms (IQM Academy and IQM Resonance) will help cultivate engineering talent capable of applying quantum theory to practice. Starting with this seminar, IQM Korea hopes to support more educational opportunities for future quantum engineers at universities, research institutions, and industries,” she added.

Since the installation of its first quantum computer at the Chungbuk National University (CBNU), IQM has been collaborating with research institutions, HPC centers, and businesses to advance quantum technology.