The European Commission has approved the proposal submitted by Eucor – The European Campus for a new international training program for doctoral candidates in quantum science and technologies. Gen-Q will enable 51 young scientists to complete their doctorate with an international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral focus. Eleven of them conduct research at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The program is scheduled for a duration of five years and has a total budget of more than EUR 12 million.
In addition to the five Eucor universities in Germany, France, and Switzerland, i.e. the universities of Basel, Freiburg, Haute-Alsace and Strasbourg as well as KIT, the universities of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Poznán, Poland, will be involved.
“Quantum science is the key to developing viable solutions in the area of information and communicationtechnologies in particular. To achieve quick progress, we will need cross-border collaboration and creative minds,” says Professor Thomas Hirth, Vice President International Affairs and Transfer of KIT and Vice President of Eucor. “Gen-Q is designed to deliberately push young researchers. This program will help recruit and promote talents at an early stage.”
“Quantum science and technology is an interdisciplinary field that explores and harnesses the rules of physics, chemistry, materials science, and computer science,” says Professor Guido Pupillo from the University of Strasbourg, scientific director of the program. “Gen-Q is conceived to use this variety of perspectives for work on advanced quantum technologies, such as quantum computing and quantum sensing. To this end, we will attract a large cohort of young talented researchers from all over the world to the Upper Rhine region and to all Gen-Q European partner institutions. The program is of high importance to our institutions, regions, countries, and to Europe.”
At KIT, Gen-Q will be managed by Professor Mario Ruben. Eleven doctoral researchers will be involved in the program.
Interdisciplinary, Intersectoral, International
The program focuses on four key areas: Overcoming noise in quantum devices, scaling up the complexity of qubits and sensors, development of quantum hardware, and development of quantum software and hybrid computing. The young researchers will choose one of the participating institutions for their doctorate and will cooperate with various industrial partners in the region.
“The aim of Gen-Q is to contribute to overcoming future challenges in European quantum science and technology and, at the same time, to train the young academic generation required to meet these challenges,” says Professor Andrea Schenker-Wicki, Rector of the University of Basel and President of Eucor. The joint program builds on many years of cooperation among the participating scientists on the Upper Rhine, in particular within the expiring doctoral program QUSTEC (Quantum Science and Technologies at the European Campus). Gen-Q also strengthens Eucor’s strategic focus on quantum science and technologies. The Eucor universities have been cooperating with the partner institutions in the Netherlands and Poland within the European University Alliance EPICUR already. Gen-Q has been granted a total budget of more than 12 million euros. Of these, the European Union provides 6 million euros, the remaining shares are borne by the partner universities involved.
For Gen-Q, the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Eucor – The European Campus receives funding from EU’s research framework program Horizon Europe in the Marie Skłodowska Curie “COFUND“ funding line to promote the mobility of scientists. In 2015, the five universities in the Upper Rhine region founded the first EGTC that is made up solely of universities.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.