Experts gather to discuss Quantum Technology:
SQuaD and QuNET hosted a Joint Workshop in Jena –
Leading industry representatives, renowned experts, and other stakeholders in the field of Quantum Communication got together in early November for a workshop organized by SQuaD and QuNET. Meeting at a conference hotel in Jena, attendees enjoyed two days full of the lively discussion and stimulating conversation that fosters professional networking and points the way to potential collaboration.
On their first day, participants attended a training session held by the qp-tech.edu project and featuring a series of insightful presentations to guide them into the theme of Quantum Technologies, including on specialized topics such as integrated optics and Quantum Imaging. Afterwards, the focus turned to the two government-funded projects of the workshop hosts, QuNET and SQuaD, the objectives and backgrounds of which were explored in greater depth over the course of the afternoon. Following a coffee break, Imran Khan from the KEEQuant company opened up an interactive World Café, where he invited guests to gather in small groups to reflect on the various challenges we face in the area of technology transfer. The results were then collected and presented to the full group for discussion. Towards evening, the meeting moved out of the hotel and on to the famous Zeiss Planetarium. Accompanied by the sounds of Pink Floyd, visitors were able to let their thoughts run free and their minds wander to distant galaxies. The first day closed in a relaxed mood with a large group gathering in the evening for dinner.
Day two started off with a meeting of the SQuaD steering committee, where the topic of standardization headed the agenda. Various speakers provided a glimpse into the work of DIN, the German Institute for Standardization, and of CEN-CENELEC, in order to underscore the implications of standardization for the field of Quantum Technology. An in-depth look was also taken into the issue of side-channel attacks with the presentation of a study on the subject by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and BearingPoint, a management and technology consultancy. This study offered new insights into the IT security challenges posed by such attacks. The attendees were then again invited to meet in the World Café to talk about testbeds and to develop their own ideas and problem-solving strategies. As on the previous day, the results were collected and discussed by the conference as a whole. The welcoming address by Daniel Behrendt of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) was followed by a number of interesting presentations from the QuNET network. There was also a poster session where participants were able to present their latest research into Quantum Communication/Technology and to solicit the opinions of their specialist audience. The two-day workshop concluded with the organizers summing up what they felt to be the key insights and outcomes of the event. The day again closed with a relaxed dinner get-together that gave attendees the chance to review their workshop experiences and to continue their discussions in a more informal atmosphere. This helped them to consolidate what they learned while fostering network-building and collaboration.
In conclusion we can definitely say that the SQuaD-QuNET workshop in Jena was a complete success, serving not only to inspire our work but also to reinforce our sense of community.
Photo: The participants of the SQuaD-QuNET workshop in Jena.
Photo source: © Fraunhofer IOF
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