Illustration by Peter Allen
Illustration by Peter Allen

Education and Training

Teaching and Curriculum Initiatives

Quantum information science and engineering (QISE) can be integrated into science classrooms for students of all ages. Chicago Quantum Exchange researchers are a part of several initiatives across the country to develop new quantum science curricula, provide research and professional education opportunities to science teachers, and reimagine quantum education altogether. Ultimately, these programs hope to inspire and educate the quantum workforce of the future.

EPiQC

The multi-institutional Enabling Practical-scale Quantum Computing (EPiQC) Expedition is creating educational materials for the next generation of computer scientists for quantum computing. It holds tutorials at conferences to cross-train existing researchers and has developed resources for teaching young students that emphasize real-world analogies, visual representations, and minimal math. EPiQC has produced two EdX course series: an advanced series on Quantum Computer Systems, and a series on Quantum Computing For Everyone. For computer scientists and engineers unfamiliar with quantum computing systems, a textbook by Ding and Chong introduces the basics of quantum software and how classical optimization techniques can be adapted to the quantum setting.

QuSTEAM

QuSTEAM: Convergent Undergraduate Education in Quantum Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator, aims to change how quantum information science and technology is taught throughout the United States. Led by scientists from five universities across the Midwest, QuSTEAM works to redesign quantum science education, working together with industry and national laboratories to develop a diverse, capable, and effective quantum workforce.

TeachQuantum

TeachQuantum is a multi-year program that consists of an annual 6-week summer research experience for high school teachers, which immerses them in real-world quantum research environments and prepares them to teach quantum-focused STEM concepts in their classrooms. The selected teachers will develop new quantum-inspired activities to implement in their classrooms, and participate in quarterly meetings throughout the school year to share their outcomes and best practices. TeachQuantum is part of the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks (HQAN), a partnership between the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.