QSE Center hosts and participates in three major Swiss quantum events

The three events were the third GESDA summit, where the Open Quantum Institute was launched, the Swissnex Quantum Summit, and the Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland. The latter two were hosted at EPFL and co-organized by the QSE Center. All three brought together researchers, policymakers, politicians, and academics from around Switzerland and the world to meet and discuss the future of quantum technologies. One important theme was the accessibility of quantum technologies for all and for helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many of the attendees participated in all three events, taking advantage of the opportunity to access many themes in quantum in such a short timespan and in close proximity.

Open Quantum Institute launched at the GESDA Summit

The third Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit (GESDA) summit, a three-day meeting that cultivated a dialogue on critical future opportunities and risks between policymakers, politicians, scientists, and members of industry, included the launch of the Open Quantum Institute. The QSE Center was a key supporter during the incubation of the Open Quantum Institute, including by supporting the NYUAD Quantum Hackathon and contributing one of the use cases for quantum for the SDGs, and will continue this collaboration now that the OQI has been launched. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, EPFL Vice President for Centers and Platforms and OQI Steering Committee Member, was part of one working group of OQI in its incubation stage. She, along with QSE Center Academic Director Vincenzo Savona and Executive Director Philippe Caroff attended the GESDA Summit as EPFL representatives.

The launch of the Open Quantum Institute was announced during the final press conference of the summit on October 13 by GESDA Chair Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, Geneva State Councilor Nathalie Fontanet, CERN General Director Fabiola Gianotti, and UBS Group Chief Risk Officer Christian Bluhm. Its purpose is to ensure that the most diverse groups and geographical regions have the opportunity to use quantum technologies to best tackle the challenges they face directly. This is the most advanced initiative incubated by GESDA yet, and draws on their ability to connect scientists and technologists, the diplomatic community, the private sector, philanthropic actors and global citizens in order to pioneer future science and technology for common good.

"With the Open Quantum Institute, we have the first concrete proposal on how international governance can prepare for the challenges of the 21st century," Cassis said in his speech. "I'm convinced that Switzerland must dare to take this path."

Swissnex comes to Switzerland for their Quantum Summit
The following day on October 14, Swissnex brought the Swissnex Quantum Summit to the EPFL Rolex Learning Center. Hosted by the EPFL QSE Center, the conference brought together key quantum leaders from 10 different countries to discuss how to jointly accelerate breakthroughs and shape the quantum economy, from education and research to startups and large companies. They also presented a snapshot of the Swiss quantum landscape.

The content of the day covered the next quantum revolution revolution and speakers and participants discussed ways to join forces across the Swissnex network. The main program was “Quantum Ecosystems: Best Practices and Challenges” and it included presentations on national quantum initiatives, the Swiss quantum landscape, and how to prepare for the quantum era. Speakers included Nicolas Gisin, the President of the Swiss Quantum Commission, Philipp Kammerlander, the Executive Director of the Quantum Center at ETH Zurich, and Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, the Vice President for Centers and Platforms at EPFL as well as the head of the Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials. Fontcuberta i Morral also represents EPFL on the Swiss Quantum Commission.

The event also included a conversation café, where participants formed small groups to discuss topics such as quantum materials and enabling technologies, the computing ecosystem, and regional innovation hubs and competence centers.

“We were very pleased to host the Swissnex Quantum Summit, an inspiring event that brought together leaders in quantum ecosystem building to advance the field,” says Philippe Caroff, Executive Director of the EPFL QSE Center. “This event provided a platform where national initiatives, industry representatives, and academic researchers could connect and collaborate. The conversation cafés added an insightful dimension, allowing participants like me to engage in deeper quantum dialogue with experts, on themes like ‘Sensing, Networking, and Cryptography Ecosystem’, the summaries of which we were excited to share with the wider audience after.”

This event was especially notable because while Swissnex usually brings people from Switzerland to their locations, this time they chose to hold the event in Switzerland at EPFL as part of this week of quantum events, in which Swissnex representatives also participated.

Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland brings 450 attendees to EPFL

This Swiss quantum week concluded on Monday October 16 with the Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland (QIDiS), hosted by the QSE Center at the SwissTech Convention Center. The event was co-organized by the QSE Center with the Quantum Center at ETH Zurich, Zurich Instruments, CSEM, IBM Research, ID Quantique, NCCR Spin, and Euresearch.

The event had over 450 participants from Switzerland and abroad, representing industry, academia, and government. There was also a large group of students attending the event who had the unique opportunity to meet with members of the quantum industry, allowing them to make connections for collaborations, internships and further professional opportunities in the future.

This group of students included 42 from ETH Zurich, whose travel and attendance was supported by the EPFL QSE Center and ETH Zurich Quantum Center, ensuring that these students were given the same great opportunity as their EPFL colleagues to attend this important event.

“It was a great opportunity to meet industry representatives, as well as connect with some of the students from EPFL's new quantum master,” says Matteo Stefanini, the Vice President and Treasurer of ETH Zurich’s student group, the Quantum Engineering Commission (QEC).

The day opened with a speech by Markus Reubi, Delegate of the Swiss Federal Council for the 2030 agenda, who discussed the Swiss federal government’s perspective on quantum, specifically focusing on quantum technologies for sustainable development goals in the international context. Reubi made a strong call to action for developing quantum technologies to contribute to advancing the SDGs and the 2030 agenda.

Other speeches included an explanation of the Swiss Quantum Initiative by Nicolas Gisin, an overview of quantum-centric supercomputing by Stefan Woerner of IBM, and a discussion of quantum instrumentation by Andreas Walraff of ETH Zurich. Participants were also able to sign up for 1-on-1 lunch meetings with one another to network and discuss issues of importance regarding the quantum industry and research.

In the afternoon, there were concurrent sessions on quantum computing, quantum sensors, quantum safety and security, and quantum instrumentation, all of which included a range of interesting talks given by experts from different academic institutions and companies. There were also sessions on building a quantum career and quantum business development. The day ended with a relaxed apéro where attendees once again had the opportunity to meet and network.

“I am immensely proud of our contributions to these pivotal quantum events,” says Vincenzo Savona, Academic Director of the QSE Center. “Our active involvement not only exemplifies EPFL’s commitment to advancing quantum science and technology, but also underlines our dedication to ensuring these revolutionary technologies are harnessed for global good. As we reflect on the success of these events, it’s clear that the collaboration and exchange of ideas they fostered are essential in steering the quantum revolution towards contributing positively to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The QSE Center remains committed to being at the forefront of this exciting journey!”