How KWANTEACH answers the need of training university students and corporate engineers in quantum technologies
The wording “Quantum Technologies” has emerged in the last 10 years to describe that the international scientific research conducted in (mostly academic) laboratories during the past 40 years is moving towards technology that can be of high impact for the general public. The field of quantum technologies is commonly divided in different pillars that reflect the categories of use cases of this technology, which is based on the exploitation of basic quantum phenomena: quantum sensing, quantum computing & simulation, quantum communication.
The basic phenomena at the heart of quantum technologies are the concepts of discrete energy levels, quantum superpositions, entanglement, interaction between matter and electromagnetic fields. The three types of applications share common subsystems or technology building blocks, which are called enabling technologies (lasers, photodetectors, electronics, vacuum technologies, cryogenics, optical fibers, nanofabrication, etc.).
Besides the clarification of the use cases and the development of the technology, a clear and urgent need for educating university students has been formulated, at various levels (technicians, engineers, doctoral students). A similar need of training appears for regular engineers already acting in SMEs or large companies, to allow their institutions being up to date with the transformation linked to quantum technologies, and act in favor of this transformation which represents opportunities.
In this context of education to quantum technologies, it is important that educators propose practical training to illustrate the theory behind quantum technologies. Practical training sessions (typically 4 to 8 hours) allow to understand the basic concepts of quantum physics by manipulating systems and observing (by eye as much as possible) the phenomena, rather than by being behind a computer and simulating physics. University professors and more generally teachers have observed by their experience that mixing theoretical concepts with practical trainings is very efficient.
This is the reason why KWAN-TEK has conceived the KWANTEACH solution, which is at the moment sold to universities, graduate schools and engineering schools. The solution is modular and allows to train people at various levels (typically from end bachelor to doctoral training, including continuous training). The solution allows to understand the basics behind all quantum technologies, in particular quantum computing and quantum sensing and metrology: what is practically a quantum bit? What are light-matter interaction, energy levels, fine and hyperfine structure in atoms, single qubit operation, coherence of quantum systems? The solution exploits the simplicity of the Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) color center in diamond, which represents a remarkable quantum system that ca be manipulated at room temperature, without the need of complex laser systems, nor vacuum systems.


The NV technology at the core of KWANTEACH particularly allows to illustrate basic concepts used in quantum computing and quantum sensing. Moreover, it offers the possibility visualize and understand the importance of system engineering that is essential in the education of engineers.
KWANTEACH comes as a set of building blocks that reflect the enabling technologies, which are assembled on a breadboard by the student/trainee and/or by the teacher. A user manual describes the procedures and a technical manual allows to link the practical work with theoretical concepts, and serves as the basis for the teacher to elaborate the course. Practical sessions of 4 hours are representative for training students at the Master 1 level, while 8-hour sessions are representative for training Master 2/doctoral students. Several options allow to elaborate small projects for students or
engineers for continuous training, over sessions of several days. KWANTEACH therefore answers the global need for practical education in quantum technologies. Within a single product, more than 10 solutions are available to cover most concepts of quantum technologies and prepare the next generations of quantum engineers.
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