First Quantum Future Academy 2019 at Université Paris-Saclay
The first French-German academy "Quantum Future Academy" in the field of quantum technologies ended on the 31th of August at Université Paris-Saclay, after a week spent both in France and Germany for the 30 undegraduate and graduate students selected for the programme.
Université Paris-Saclay, the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, the Université de Strasbourg and the Universität des Saarlandes organised jointly the first French-German "Quantum Future Academy" from the 24th to the 31th of August 2019. Initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI), with the support of the French-German University (DFH-UFA), this first French-German academy gave the chance to the 30 students coming from France or Germany to visit 4 leading universities in the quantum research.
During the week the students visited specialised labs on the fourth sites, attended high-level conferences, and discussed with politicians and several French, German and international companies involved in the development of quantum technologies. For the undergraduate and graduate students, this week has been an exclusive opportunity to start building their profesionnal and scientific network and considering their career in science and quantum technologies. 6 students from Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, IOGS and Université Paris-Sud took part in this new programme.
During their stay at Université Paris-Saclay, the students discovered the quantum ecosystem of Paris-Saclay. After visiting the different labs at the Service de physique de l'état condensé - SPEC, the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides - LPS and at the Centre de nanosciences et de nanotechnologies - C2N, the students met 3 companies, Thalès, EDF and ATOS and 2 start-ups, Quandela and Pasqal founded by alumni of Université Paris-Saclay. The industry representatives told the students about their work related to the quantum field and presented them the different career paths they could follow as physicists in the private sector.
The Quantum Future Academy ended with a public ceremony organised at the IOGS, on Paris-Saclay campus, during which the students could ask their very last questions to Alain Aspect, holder of the Golden Medal of the CNRS 2005, the Wolf Prize 2010, the Balzan Prize 2013, the Optical Society of America (OSA) Prize, the Ives Medal / Jarus Quinn Prize 2013 and the Niels Bohr Medal 2013. Herbert Zeisel (BMBF), Joaquim Nassar (MESRI), Thomas Skordas (DG Connect, European Commission) and Jean-François Roch (professor at ENS Paris-Saclay) strongly encouraged the students to keep on studying and doing research in quantum technologies during a round table.
The project should be renewed in 2020 at European level.
