Quantum information is a new discipline with the intersection of quantum physics and information technology,which has developed rapidly recently and has been on the road of industrialization.In contrast,the severe shortage of the practitioners,who can understand quantum information technology in depth,have become bottlenecks restricting the development of this technology.The lack of talent stems is from the lack of education,especially for the undergraduate students of engineering.Benefitting from the vigorous growth of quantum information in China,the fundamental of infiltrating the quantum information course in the undergraduate education of engineering can be performed,and some positive effects have been achieved.The course has carried out the teaching reforms,and practices in terms of teaching objectives,curriculum structure,practical methods,which have gained good teaching results.These teaching experiences and ideas provide a valuable reference for quantum information education in the cyberspace security discipline.
Quantum information is a new discipline with the intersection of quantum physics and information technology,which has developed rapidly recently and has been on the road of industrialization.In contrast,the severe shortage of the practitioners,who can understand quantum information technology in depth,have become bottlenecks restricting the development of this technology.The lack of talent stems is from the lack of education,especially for the undergraduate students of engineering.Benefitting from the vigorous growth of quantum information in China,the fundamental of infiltrating the quantum information course in the undergraduate education of engineering can be performed,and some positive effects have been achieved.The course has carried out the teaching reforms,and practices in terms of teaching objectives,curriculum structure,practical methods,which have gained good teaching results.These teaching experiences and ideas provide a valuable reference for quantum information education in the cyberspace security discipline.
Quantum information is a new subject produced by the cross integration of quantum physics and information technology, mainly including quantum communication, quantum computing and quantum metrology. In recent years, quantum information technologies such as quantum cryptography and quantum computing have developed rapidly. Under this background, some universities have set up a professional elective course of quantum information for undergraduates majoring in cyberspace security. This course mainly introduces students to quantum information related to cyberspace security, such as quantum key distribution, quantum cryptographic algorithm, quantum computing algorithm and quantum computer. This paper combs and summarizes the teaching experience of quantum information course group from the perspectives of teaching and learning. On the one hand, it discusses how teachers organize teaching effectively. According to the characteristics of undergraduates majoring in cyberspace security, teacher need to set clear teaching objectives, carefully choose teaching contents, compile appropriate teaching materials, select appropriate teaching methods and make exquisite teaching slides. At the same time, when implementing classroom teaching, teacher need to pay attention to teach the course from the perspective of cyberspace security and integrate the latest research results of quantum information into classroom teaching in real time. On the other hand, it discusses how teachers help students learn quantum information course well. Teachers should focus on visualizing the abstract theory, helping students build their own quantum information knowledge system and improve their learning enthusiasm. The teaching experience has certain reference significance for the teaching and curriculum construction of quantum information.
There is a growing need for scientists and engineers with Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) skills.To address this need for 'quantum aware' graduates we describe a two-course sequence in quantum computing suitable for undergraduate students studying electrical engineering, physics, and computer science.Our approach is unique in that it aims to take full advantage of the diverse backgrounds of second and third year undergraduate students from these three STEM disciplines.Students will work in interdisciplinary teams to (1) understand the physics and the computational theory relevant to quantum computing, (2) develop computer code that simulates a quantum computer, (3) understand the relevance and importance of existing quantum computing algorithms, and (4) appreciate the need for future research in quantum computing.Our approach is informed in part by our experience working with a pair of undergraduate students this past summer on the development of a Python-based quantum computer simulator.This experience showed that building a simulator was an effective way to teach the theory underlying quantum computing.Building a simulator also provides an excellent foundation upon which to explore student-accessible research projects in quantum computing, which is a high-impact educational practice.
Abstract As the field of quantum information science and engineering (QISE) continues its rapid growth, there are increasing concerns about the workforce demands and the necessity of preparing students for quantum-related careers. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the field, it is necessary to offer diverse educational opportunities to ensure that students are well-prepared for careers emerging from the second quantum revolution. In this paper, we present our findings from a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with university QISE educators, who have taken on the challenges and opportunities in developing QISE courses and curricula for undergraduate and graduate students from different academic backgrounds. Our findings focus on common themes across undergraduate and graduate QISE education, as well as advising and mentoring students to prepare them for research in the field. The interviewees discussed the various strategies they had implemented, such as incorporating hands-on lab activities, integration of Python coding with Qiskit, and including project-based learning experiences. Furthermore, their reflections on mentorship and advising students emphasized the importance of recognizing students’ prior preparation, providing targeted resources, and supportive learning environments. Our findings are meant to provide guidance for educators looking to implement effective QISE educational strategies that address the changing landscape of quantum information revolution.
Quantum Information Technologies and a Practical Module is a new course we launch at Shanghai Jiao Tong University targeting at the undergraduate students who major in a variety of engineering disciplines. We develop a holistic curriculum for quantum computing covering the quantum hardware, quantum algorithms and applications. The quantum computing approaches include the universal digital quantum computing, analog quantum computing and the hybrid quantum-classical variational quantum computing that is tailored to the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) technologies nowadays. Besides, we set a practical module to bring student closer to the real industry needs. The students would form a team of three to use any quantum approach to solve a problem in fields like optimization, finance, machine learning, chemistry and biology. Further, this course is selected into the Jiao Tong Global Virtual Classroom Initiative, so that it is open to global students in Association of Pacific Rim Universities at the same time with the offline students, in a specifically updated classroom. The efforts in curriculum development, practical module setting and blended learning make this course a good case study for education on quantum sciences and technologies.
Quantum Computing is an exciting field that draws from information theory, computer science, mathematics, and quantum physics to process information in fundamentally new ways. There is an ongoing race to develop practical/reliable quantum computers and increase the quantum workforce. This needs to be accompanied by the development of quantum computing programs, courses and curricula coupled with the development and adoption of evidence-based materials and pedagogies to support the education of the next generation of quantum information scientists and workforce. At our university, we introduced an introductory course in Quantum Computing to undergraduate students and conducted a case study to investigate the strengths and difficulties of these students in quantum computing after taking the introductory course. Our goal is to contribute to the improvement of quantum computing education while understanding the topics that the students find easy to comprehend and topics that are difficult to comprehend. We conducted a series of interviews to identify these strengths and difficulties. This investigation is essential to help train the next generation of quantum scientists and researchers because it gives information and direction to quantum computing education, and it also helps us to develop research-based teaching and learning materials. We report on the results of these interviews and our initial work on the development of evidence-based materials for teaching an introductory course in Quantum Computing.
Investments in quantum technologies, which are based on the effects of quantum mechanics, have escalated in recent years, with big players such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft engaging in the race for quantum supremacy. Some potential benefits of this cutting-edge technology include developing new drugs and materials through accurate molecule simulation, establishing more secure and reliable communication channels, and finding faster solutions for complex optimization problems. As quantum technologies evolve, however, the demand for new software, interfaces, and end-to-end systems to properly program and explore the advantages of quantum mechanics becomes paramount. This requires engineers, especially software engineers, and computer scientists, to have multidisciplinary knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, introductory quantum computing and technologies courses are mostly available in physics, and most engineering and computer science courses do not have modules on quantum physics, leading to a talent gap in the current job market. Therefore, this paper proposes a short teaching plan for introducing quantum computing to students with a more technology-based background, such as computer science and engineering students. This plan uses active learning methodologies, such as Challege-Based Teaching, to better engage these students and contextualize the many applications of this new technology. The initial teaching plan consists of a 3-hour seminar introducing the main quantum mechanics concepts and the technology applications, a 3-hour introduction to the math fundamentals and quantum logic gates, and a 3-hour handson workshop using the IBM Qiskit platform. Two versions of this plan were executed in two different moments: (1) a one-day event open to undergraduate students from different institutions and backgrounds, and (2) a 3-day internal training course for computer science and information technology management undergraduate students from our higher education institution. Data was collected during both events through online forms and interviews to measure the learning outcomes of the produced material and better understand the public interest in the field. The results identified key elements for better teaching quantum computing for computer scientists and engineers, providing guidelines for developing a more extensive and term-long teaching plan for undergraduate technology courses.