QWorld OQI Hackathon QC Certification Courses (Two Courses) | May 19-28, 2025 (assessments due June 16) or August 4-13, 2025 (assessments due September 4)
To ensure participants of Open Quantum Institute (OQI) supported hackathons are equipped with the necessary skills, QWorld offers an education program covering quantum computing theoretical and applied skills (foundation to advanced skills). This virtual course will offer a high-quality Certification upon finishing the entire course and activities.
Kindly note that all students with little or no knowledge of quantum computing are required to complete a virtual course (ninety minutes per session and ten sessions total) curated by QWorld and tailored specifically to quantum hackathons. The course will be self-paced. Successful participants will receive a certification upon completion of this online course.
We invite you to a series of workshops (QBronze, QNickel) in the field of quantum computing and programming! During the workshops, we will use Discord to communicate with each other and conduct the workshop by Zoom meetings. Jupyter notebooks and Zoom lectures will be in English. During all workshops, mentors are provided who will answer questions and consult on the progress in learning.
About the program
Bronze-Qiskit
QBronze-Qiskit is QWorld’s introductory level quantum programming workshop series. It is a collection of Jupyter notebooks, and each notebook has many programming tasks to provide hands-on experiences. Bronze-Qiskit is an active version of Bronze using Qiskit as the quantum programming framework. The course material is designed for everyone who wants to learn the basics of quantum computing and learn how to write simple quantum programs. The only prerequisite is a basic knowledge of programming (e.g., using conditionals and loops) in Python.
Bronze-Qiskit has five main sections, and for each of them, the participant should spend about 3-4 hours. Their scope includes basics of classical systems, basics of quantum systems, quantum operators on a quantum bit, entanglement and basics quantum protocols, and quantum search algorithm.
QNickel
Nickel is a collection of Jupyter notebooks, and each notebook has many programming tasks to provide hands-on experiences. It is a continuation of Bronze, in which the basics of quantum computing and quantum programming were introduced. Nickel includes two different quantum programming frameworks, Qiskit and Cirq.
Nickel has three main sections: Simulation of Classical Gates, Conventional Quantum Algorithms (Deutsch’s algorithm, Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm, Simon’s Algorithm), and Grover’s Algorithm for Max-Cut Problem (Revision of Grover’s algorithm, adders, Max-Cut problem).
Our Team
Organizers: Jibran Rashid (QWorld), Sana Odeh (NYUAD)
Leader: Jibran Rashid (QBronze & QNickel)
Mentors: Kenneth Isamade, Maja, Lorraine Tsitsi Majiri, Rumlah Amer, Razeen ud Din
Team-Section: Audrey Himmer (OQI/CERN) and Marianne Schoerling (OQI/GESDA)
Technical Staff: Kenneth Isamade (Canvas)
Contact: info [at] qworld.net
Schedule of QWorld OQI Hackathon QC Certification Courses (Two Courses)
The workshop will be held during ten days, approximately requiring 30 hours of training. Participants are expected to follow the workshop materials and complete the tasks on their own. The course will be self-paced and will take place:
1. May 19th to May 28th, 2025
and
2. August 4th to August 13th, 2025
QBronze + QNickel
Monday – May 19, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 4, 8 PM (GST)
The session covers course logistics and provides a general introducing to qauntum computing from a computer science perspective.
Tuesday – May 20, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 5, 8 PM (GST)
We introduce the mathematical framework for representing classical probabilistic systems and their evolution under stochastic operations.
Wednesday – May 21, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 6, 8 PM (GST)
We generalize our formulation to allow representation of quantum information, its evolution under unitary operations and extracting information via measurements.
Thursday – May 22, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 7, 8 PM (GST)
Quantum Operations & Qiskit Programming
We visualize quantum states and operations and identify entanglement as a key resource in quantum circuits. We write our first quantum circuit simulation using Qiskit.
Friday – May 23, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 8, 8 PM (GST)
Quantum Protocols
We review the foundational protocols for super dense coding and quantum teleportation. To set the stage for our upcoming discussion of quantum algorithms, we introduce ideas from computational complexity theory.
Saturday – May 24, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 9, 8 PM (GST)
Introduction to Quantum Query Complexity
We introduce ideas from reversible computation and work through the calculation for phase kickback. We solve toy problems using our first quantum algorithm in the quantum query complexity model.
Sunday – May 25, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 10, 8 PM (GST)
Introduction to Quantum Algorithms
We review the Deutsch-Josza and Bernstein-Vazirani algorithms.
Monday – May 26, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 11, 8 PM (GST)
Simon’s Algorithm
We discuss Simon’s Algorithm and review the structure of quantum algorithm in query complexity model.
Tuesday – May 27, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 12, 8 PM (GST)
Grover’s Algorithm
We show a quadratic improvement for the unstructured search problem using Grover’s algorithm.
Wednesday – May 28, 5:00 PM (GST) [and] August 13, 8 PM (GST)
Solving Max Cut via Grover
We combine ideas from the entire workshop to solve the max-cut problem using Grover’s algorithm.
Quantum workshops | Homework and Certificate
We will use Canvas learning management system for homework tracking. All assessments are due by April 23. Participants have to earn earn at least 50% on each assessment and have an overall grade > 70% to complete each module.
Code of Conduct
Our event is dedicated to providing a harassment-free workshop experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment of event participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any event venue, including talks, workshops, parties, Twitter and other online media. Event participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event.
We respect the minors (children under age 18) and we must make every effort to protect their rights. All private relationships, private communications (including social media channels), or sexual contacts with minors are prohibited.
The default communication channel between the organizers and participants is e-mail. Except filing the application form, the contact info of any attendee or participant cannot be requested by any person from organizer side (i.e., mentor, educator, speaker, organizer, sponsor, or volunteer). On the other hand, any person from organizer side may share his or her contact info with a participant who is not a minor, upon request by the participant.
A minor can access the emails of the main organizers on the event’s website. If a minor interested in working with a person from organizer side for scientific or pedagogical purpose, then he or she should read this document before contacting this person:
https://qworld.net/code-of-ethics-and-conduct/#minors
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the organizers immediately. You may also contact directly the members of the Ethics Committee of QWorld.
https://qworld.net/code-of-ethics-and-conduct/
Check the above link for more details.
