QWorld OQI Pre-Hackathon training Programme | May 15-24 & May 27 – June 5, 2026

To ensure participants of Open Quantum Institute-supported hackathons have the necessary skills, OQI and QWorld provide an educational  programme covering the following:

1. Quantum Computing Essentials, module lead by QWorld: Quantum computing theoretical and applied skills (foundation to advanced skills). Upon finishing this module, students get an OQI-Qworld certificate. 
2. From Quantum Computing to Applications and Impact,module lead by the OQI: introducing responsible quantum approaches, the development of quantum computing use cases aligned with the SDGs, and a pitching workshop delivered by QAI Ventures, supporting participants in preparing for the hackathon’s final project presentation.

While participants wait for the pre-hackathon training to start, they are invited to review resources freely accessible in the OQI educational repository, and they are strongly invited to follow the OQI Use Case Teams – Educational Module. Initially established for Open Quantum Institute (OQI) use case teams (professionals submitting a Use case to the OQI) to establish the core expectations required when scoping and developing a OQI use case, we encourage everyone involved with the hackathon to complete it since a hackathon submission can be viewed as a highly compact use case.

Please note, however, that hackathon participants will never be requested to develop in such a short time frame something as mature as an OQI Use case, this is simply an inspiration to support you in the process.

The Open Quantum Institute (OQI) and QPlayLearn designed this training module to guide you through best practices for identifying meaningful quantum computing use cases and to prepare you to apply for the Use Case Teams.

The course explores what “impact” and “responsible” mean for quantum computing in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and introduces core concepts and practical foundations needed to develop relevant and impactful applications using today’s quantum approaches. Beyond the Use Case Teams application process, these shared guidelines aim to foster credibility and alignment across the quantum community.

1. Quantum Computing Essentials | May 15 – 24, 2026

This virtual course is designed by QWorld to provide hackathon participants with little or no prior knowledge of quantum computing with the essential foundations required to participate effectively. Curated by QWorld and tailored specifically to quantum hackathons, it consists of ten self‑paced online sessions of ninety minutes each, combining theoretical concepts with practical programming exercises. The course is delivered through Zoom lectures and Jupyter notebooks, with English as the working language and continuous mentor support available throughout.

Interactive communication is facilitated via Discord, allowing participants to ask questions and receive guidance on their learning progress. Participants who successfully complete the course receive a certification attesting to their acquired quantum computing competencies.

QBronze-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.

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 (partial)
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. We will only cover the application of Grover to solve the Max-Cut problem from QNickel.

Grover’s Algorithm for Max-Cut Problem (Revision of Grover’s algorithm, adders, Max-Cut problem).

QCobalt
QCobalt is QWorld’s intermediate level workshop series on quantum annealing, focusing on modeling and solving combinatorial optimization problems.

Cobalt is a collection of Jupyter notebooks, and each notebook has many programming tasks to provide hands-on experiences. Besides theoretical background on how to design QUBO formulations for combinatorial optimization problems, Cobalt also introduces the Ocean SDK framework of D-Wave. The workshop covers commonly applied techniques in NISQ algorithms, such as:

• QUBO Formulation
• Modelling problems using penalty method and Ising model 
• Simulated Annealing and expressing problems using BQM
• Quantum Annealing

Schedule of QWorld OQI Hackathon Pre-Hackathon training Programme

The course will be self-paced and will take place from May 15, 2026 to May 24, 2026.
You can earn certificates for QBronze and QCobalt upon successful completion of this online course.
The only prerequisite is a basic knowledge of programming (e.g. using conditionals and loops) in Python and some linear algebra.

QBronze + QNickel (partial) + QCobalt

May 14, 2026
Introduction to the pre-hackathon training programme

May 15, 2026
Introduction to Quantum Computing

May 16, 2026
Introduction to Classical Systems

May 17, 2026
Introduction to Quantum Systems

May 18, 2026
Quantum Operations & Qiskit Programming

May 19, 2026
Grover’s Algorithm

May 20, 2026
Grover’s Algorithm for Max-Cut Problem

May 21, 2026
Variational Algorithms & Adiabatic Quantum Computation

May 22, 2026
Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithms QAOA

May 23, 2026
QUBO and Ising Formulations

May 24, 2026
Binary Quadratic Model

Deadlines for assignments will depend on the hackathons for which participants are registered. Canvas learning management system for homework tracking will be used. Participants have to earn at least 50% on each assessment and have an overall grade > 70% to complete each module.

For Morocco: TBA
For Mexico: May 30, 2026
For Costa Rica: TBA
For Vietnam: TBA

2. From Quantum Computing to Applications and Impact | May 27 – June 5, 2026

This module complements the technical training and is designed to support participants in applying their quantum computing skills within the context of a hackathon focused on one or more Sustainable Development Goals. It consists of three webinars, delivered between 27 May and 4 June, addressing both application development and impact considerations.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend the live sessions; however, recordings will also be made available via the dedicated training Discord channel. While no certificates are issued for these webinars, they are considered essential, as they clarify expectations and evaluation criteria for the hackathon.

All sessions will be held on Zoom at the following time:

May 27
Introduction to responsible quantum computing

May 28 and May 29
Pitching
A workshop led by QAI Ventures introducing the core skills behind effective pitching, helping hackathon participants prepare for their final project pitch.

June 4 & June 5
QC applications for SDGs

This two‑hour workshop explores how SDG‑related challenges can be translated into quantum computing use cases, using water‑related issues as an illustrative example. The first part focuses on framing real‑world problems and assessing where quantum computing may add value, supported by selected OQI use cases. The second part introduces OQI’s impact tool to evaluate societal relevance and sustainability considerations.

Our Team

Organizers: Jibran Rashid (QWorld), Audrey Himmer (OQI/CERN)
Leader: Jibran Rashid (QBronze & QNickel & QCobalt)
Discord Course Mentors: Kenneth Isamade, Maja, Lorraine Tsitsi Majiri, Rumlah Amer, Razeen ud Din, Syed Danial Haseeb
Technical Staff: Kenneth Isamade (Canvas)

Contact: qeducation [at] qworld.net

For more information on the OQI supported Hackathons:

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.