MIT Researchers Lead High School Educational Initiative on Quantum Computing

(MIT.edu) Educational resources on quantum computing are limited K-12. To address this gap, MIT researchers have partnered with The Coding School (TCS), a technology education nonprofit. This first-of-its-kind initiative, playfully named “Qubit by Qubit,” aims to introduce high school students to quantum computing through two programs: a week-long summer camp and a year-long course, led respectively by Amir Karamlou and Francisca Vasconcelos of the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE)’s Engineering Quantum Systems (EQuS) research group.
An all-online format with live instruction by MIT researchers, the program is open to high school students around the United States and worldwide. The goal of these programs is two-fold: first, to excite students about quantum computing and provide them with real-world quantum skills; and second, to increase diversity in the field of quantum computing by focusing on outreach to underrepresented groups in STEM, including women, students of color, and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. To achieve these ends, they have partnered with MIT’s Center for Quantum Engineering, which supports the development of a U.S. quantum workforce through a range of fellowship programs, educational curriculum development, and quantum-related research activities at MIT. The educational initiative is also sponsored by Google AI and IBM Quantum.