Mumbai: Students at IIT Bombay are set to discover the emerging niche of ‘Quantum Technology’, or QT – a course offered at very few places apart from the Powai-based institute.
IIT-B’s soon-to-be-launched Interdisciplinary Dual Degree Programme (IDDDP) in Quantum Technology will allow students to pursue a master’s in the emerging core while graduating from other disciplines offered at the institute.
𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗦 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗜𝗧-𝗕
“The Dual Degree in Quantum Technologies is an MTech course that we hope to offer in the near future. It will be open to all BTech and BS students at IIT-B and will enhance their training and make them ready for a career in quantum technologies with a combination of coursework and lab experience that will make them some of the most competitive persons in the quantum workforce,” said Prof Sai Vinjanampathy, Associate Professor, Department of Physics.
The programme will allow students to obtain the Bachelors’ and Master’s degrees in five years while simultaneously pursuing credits for both degrees from the third year. Despite the trend of young engineers opting for non-core job profiles, professors at the centre are hopeful about producing researchers, entrepreneurs and academicians who will give back to the field of quantum technologies.
𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗹𝘆
“While sparking an interest in core subjects among students, the centre also aims to thrust students into doing something on their own. This will allow students to stand at the edge of the immense market potential of quantum technology, especially when giants like Google and IBM are looking at it,” said Prof Swaroop Ganguly from IIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering.
Launched in August 2022, The Centre of Excellence in Quantum Information, Computing, Science and Technology (CoE-QuICST) at IIT-B consists of four verticals as identified by the National Quantum Mission (NQM) – Quantum Computing, Quantum Communications, Quantum Sensing and Metrology, and Quantum Materials and Devices.
𝗨𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗮
The centre aims to collaborate with other quantum technology academic institutes and research organisations, both within the country and abroad to create a robust ecosystem for the development of QT in India. It aims to focus its research efforts on the development of prototypes of quantum computers, quantum sensors, and components and systems for quantum communications in an ecosystem of developing quantum technology.
“While India boasts a sizable pool of QT experts, there’s an urgent need to create trained manpower to sustain the National Quantum Mission. This is why we also want to contribute to faculty development programmes in other colleges so the discipline is not limited to IITs, IISc, and the IISERs. Reaching out to students at colleges and schools is part of our vision,” said IIT-B's Prof Suddhasatta Mahapatra, professor-in-charge of the Centre of Excellence in Quantum Information, Computing, Science and Technology.
