6th QSC Junior Day at TU Delft
On October 17th, the 6th QSC Junior Day was held at the campus of TU Delft, attended by 70 junior scientists.
This day was organised by Mio Poortvliet (LION, Leiden) and Yaroslav Herasymenko (QuTech and QuSoft).
The 6th QSC Junior day began on a sunny fall morning at the Delft campus at around 10 am, where attendees enjoyed cookies and coffee before the event officially started at 10.30. The first session was given by Gayane Vardoyan about academic life and general aspects of application procedures for academic positions. She provided valuable insights into what universities look for in potential candidates and how to assess if a particular institution is the right fit.
Next, we had the very riveting talk by Maris Ozols about the quantum hype and its potential consequences. Backed by substantial research, Maris dissected bold claims made by famous CEOs and science speakers in the media, exposing the fallacies in their statements and how we, as members of the quantum community, can mitigate the quantum hype.
After lunch, Jules van Oven, the founder of Qblox, shared insights into his professional journey and the development of his quantum hardware startup, which involves collaborations with Qutech and various Dutch organizations. Thereafter, we were led for a short tea break, during which the room was arranged to facilitate socialising, with many circular tables.
The afternoon session continued with Joran van Apeldoorn's thought-provoking talk on the future of quantum, exploring questions like "What will the quantum infrastructure look like?" and "Who will be the major players in quantum?" Attendees had the opportunity to openly discuss and share their perspectives on these intriguing questions.
The day concluded with a surprise social activity by the hosts. We participated in a quiz and a fun game. Randomly assigned teams allowed participants to connect with people from the quantum community, fostering new connections.
The 6th QSC Junior day was a knowledge-packed and enjoyable event, thanks to the excellent organization by Mio and Yaroslav and the insightful presentations by the speakers.
By Kshiti Sneh Rai, 2nd-year PhD student at the aQa group, Leiden University.