IITs, IISc and Other Leading Indian Institutes Collaborate with IBM for Quantum Computing Education and Research

IBM announced that it will allow over-the-cloud access to its quantum systems for top-tier institutions of India to accelerate advanced training and research in quantum computing. The faculty and students of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, IISER Thiruvananthapuram, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Kolkata, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Mumbai and the University of Calcutta will be able to access the company's quantum systems, quantum learning resources and, quantum tools over IBM Cloud for education and research purposes. This will allow them to work on actual quantum computers and program them using the Qiskit open-source framework.

The collaboration will be part of the IBM Quantum Educators program that helps faculty in the quantum field connect with one another and provides them with resources to enable quality educational experiences. The program offers multiple benefits like additional access to systems beyond the company’s open systems, pulse access on the additional systems, priority considerations when in queue and private collaboration channels with other educators in the program.

IISER Thiruvananthapuram, ISI Kolkata, and IIT Madras will host Quantum Computing Lab courses for their advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. These courses will include lab sessions using IBM quantum systems. The University of Calcutta has been awarded an IBM Quantum Researchers Program Access Award for a project led by researcher Mrityunjay Ghosh under the guidance and supervision of Dr Amlan Chakrabarti, Professor and Director of AK Choudhury School of IT, University of Calcutta. This marks the first IBM Quantum Researchers Program Access Award made to a student or faculty at an Indian university.

“Quantum Computing is a paradigm-shifting technology that can power countless innovations in the future. By providing access to our systems over cloud, IBM is enabling India’s brightest minds to learn the skills to prepare for this disruptive future. The company is committed to growing a quantum-ready workforce and building an ecosystem to nurture the quantum community in India. With this engagement, we can take it a step further to scale up this ecosystem in India, for India and the world,” said Gargi Dasgupta, director, IBM Research India and CTO, IBM India/South Asia.