EPFL QSE Center co-organized first Swiss Quantum Days event

“Switzerland has a vibrant quantum community of researchers, students, and industry players, but it did not yet have any dedicated event that would be inclusive of all domains of quantum,” says Philippe Caroff, Executive Director of the QSE Center at EPFL and part of the Swiss Quantum Days organizing committee. “Creating this event to foster collaboration and a sense of being part of one community was what was most important to us.”

Over the course of three days, Swiss Quantum Days welcomed around 180 participants from all levels of academia and from industry, with presentations by over two dozen speakers, including four invited speakers – Patrick Malentisky from the University of Basel, Grégoire Ribordy from ID Quantique, Ana Akrap from the University of Fribourg and Wenchao Xu from ETH Zurich. The event also featured a keynote address by Jens Eisert from the Free University of Berlin and a presentation on the newly created Swiss Quantum Initiative by Nicolas Gisin, the president of the Swiss Quantum Commission.

The event gave early-career scientists at the PhD and Postdoc level the opportunity to present their research and to meet and learn from other researchers from across Switzerland. Presentations covered all fields of quantum research, including quantum sensing, quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum materials.

“It was a great occasion to get to know the different research areas in quantum in Switzerland and expand my horizons,” says Giulia del Pace, a Postdoc at EPFL’s Laboratory for Quantum Gases who gave the talk Self-organization of strongly-correlated atomic Fermi gases with long-range interactions.

“It was interesting to see different approaches to similar goals, like quantum computers and quantum simulation. The atmosphere encouraged discussion with peers and with senior scientists to share not only our knowledge but also our point of view on what research is about and on the future of the quantum research. I found particularly valuable the variety of quantum platforms presented in the different talks,” adds del Pace.

There was also a poster session where around 80 PhD students presented their research to their colleagues over some beers and snacks. Along with the great science, participants also enjoyed delicious food at the Palace Hotel in Villars and amazing mountain scenery, plus a free afternoon to enjoy the beautiful location, which gave some the opportunity for skiing, hiking, or just a moment to relax in the Alps.

“The Swiss community of researchers needed an event where they all could take part to exchange ideas, present their advancements, and connect to industry and the representatives of governmental organs,” says Vincenzo Savona, Academic Director of the QSE Center and co-chair of the Swiss Quantum Days.

This opportunity for networking and collaboration between quantum researchers in Switzerland was an especially important motivation for creating this event, especially in light of the end of NCCR QSIT and their General Meetings in Arosa, which until 2022 took place every year since 2011 (except during the pandemic).

“After NCCR QSIT came to an end in 2022, it was unclear whether and how the vital Arosa meeting would be continued,” says Philipp Kammerlander, Executive Director of the Quantum Center at ETH Zurich and part of the Swiss Quantum Days organizing committee. “With the Swiss Quantum Days 2023 in Villars, we have filled this vacuum.”

Indeed, in the global context where other national initiatives have already structured their quantum ecosystem, such as in The Netherlands, Denmark, France, UK and Germany, it is essential for the Swiss quantum community to come together. The newly-created Swiss Quantum Initiative and Swiss Quantum Commission, in which EPFL’s Associate Vice President for Centers and Platforms Anna Fontcuberta i Morral serves as a representative, are important steps in helping coordinate quantum research in Switzerland.

This government initiative has been tasked to allocate CHF10 million over two years to help develop quantum in Switzerland, by educating and training academics along with engineers and apprentices, as well as to support quantum startups.

“The Swiss quantum community is vibrant and shows great potential for the future,” says Monique Bolli, who is in charge of the Swiss Quantum Initiative at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) “In my position, I am happy to connect the dots.”

Having four quantum centers from academic instructions across Switzerland coming together for this event is just the beginning of their continued collaboration and an important part of creating a cohesive Swiss quantum community.

“The Swiss Quantum Centers will play a central role in coordinating the research on quantum in Switzerland,” says Savona. “And we plan to make the Swiss Quantum Days an annual conference. The format will evolve, as we hope to increase the presence of industry and to potentially link the main event to a winter school in the future.”