Quantum Computing Training @ QAI

D-Wave Quantum Computing Training @ QAI is a self-paced and instructor supported 1-week online course, followed by one-month unlimited access to the D-Wave Leap™ Quantum Cloud service.

The Quantum Algorithms Institute is covering the cost of the training for faculty, students, and staff at Canadian post-secondary institutions.

NOTE: This program is close to being full and all applications may not be approved in this current cohort. QAI will continue to receive applications in anticipation of future program expansion.

 
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This is a short, intensive time-period to learn how to use D-Wave Leap™ and explore how D-Wave quantum hardware and services can apply to a wide range of applications across multiple industries.  

The average time to complete the 1-week self-paced training course is 25-35 hours, depending on experience level.

Training Program

D-Wave Quantum Programming 101-Core is an intermediate level course to accelerate quantum application development, receive expert training and mentorship, connect with the D-Wave Leap community, and gain new ideas and skills on applying quantum computing. This comprehensive, hands-on training allows you to quickly put theory into practice with real-world quantum applications. Course materials include recorded presentations, quizzes, and assignments, along with live office hours with an instructor. Most learners report spending about 30 hours in total to complete the course. 

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Break down an optimization problem into distinct objectives and constraints

  • Formulate real-world optimization problems as quadratic models

  • Write an Ocean program to run on D-Wave’s quantum computer and hybrid solvers

  • Examine different problems in your area of interest for suitability for D-Wave’s products

 

The Quantum Algorithms Institute is covering the full cost for the training and access to the D-Wave Leap™ Quantum Cloud service.

QAI objectives in sponsoring this training and quantum computer access include:

  • Increasing the number of people with skills in quantum computing

  • Supporting the growth of the quantum workforce in Canada across multiple industries

  • Developing use cases for the application of quantum computing to industry challenges

  • Seeding ideas for applied research projects with industry partners

Eligibility

The D-Wave Quantum Computing Training @ QAI application and program are currently open to all faculty, students, and staff at Canadian post-secondary institutions who have interests in quantum computing applications.

Program Outcomes

By offering this training, QAI is supporting individuals to:

Seek employment in the quantum sector

Receive best-in-class training in quantum computing

Integrate quantum computing into teaching/research

Develop new applied research projects using quantum

Share findings at events, research papers or case studies

Training Pre-Requisites

Previous background and experience

Quantum computing training is designed for anyone who wants to upskill, reskill, or just learn more about quantum computing and quantum application development. You do not need to be a physicist, mathematician, or engineer to take this training. Training sessions have included individuals from healthcare, government, corporations, educational institutes, and private individuals looking to learn new skills.

Recommended Background Experience includes:

  • Intermediate Python programming skills

  • Comfort working with math equations and graphs

  • Familiarity with matrix operations

This training is less well-suited for individuals who are exclusively interested in quantum information science, theoretical physics, or computer science complexity theory.

Upcoming D-Wave Leap™ Training Dates*

June 3-7

Mar 18-22

May 6-10

Apr 22-26

*Please note: these dates are references only and more dates may be added. To confirm the sessions offered by D-Wave, please visit the D-Wave website

Post-Program Requirements

Upon completion of the training course and one-month D-Wave Leap™ access, each trainee must complete the following as a condition of participation in the program:

  1. Complete a summary learning report to share findings supplemented with a 1-minute video and share with QAI within 15 business days after training is concluded. Further report guidelines will be provided in the applicant’s confirmation email.

  2. QAI must be cited as a funder in any research publications resulting from this program. In addition, QAI must be referenced in any presentation materials arising from the program. Trainees will be provided with the QAI logo for this purpose.

  3. QAI may also invite trainees to speak at events about training program outcomes and opportunities.

Geometric light nodes intertwine, embodying limitless quantum possibilities in technology and education

Application Process

Step One:

Fill out the D-Wave Leap Training Application Form

Once submitted, you will receive an invitation to our quantum community portal while waiting for a response from our selection committee. Please note that all communications and updates regarding the approval process will be sent to applicants via email.

D-Wave Training Application Form

Step Two:

QAI will review the application and candidates will be notified via email of the decision. Successful candidates will be sent instructions to enroll in the D-Wave training program.

Application Details:

Applicants will be asked to upload an Expression of Interest: up to 2 pages (max) on training interests, research focus areas, and how training and access will help achieve QAI program objectives and outcomes. The QAI application for D-Wave training also requires review and signature of the QAI training user agreement for all applicants.

QAI reserves the right to decline any applications that do not reflect the goals of the program or do not indicate the required pre-requisite.  All applicants will receive a reply.

QAI also reserves the right to reserve spots for QAI priority areas or groups to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as a wide range of experience levels, post-secondary institutions, industry focus areas etc.

For questions on the QAI application process for the D-Wave Quantum Computing Training @ QAI, please email contact@quantumalgorithmsinstitute.ca.

Step Three:

Once approved for the training by QAI, accepted applicants will need to email training@dwavesys.com to specify which training session they would like to participate in.

D-Wave will provide instructions on how to register at no cost. Trainees will be asked to accept D-Wave Terms and Conditions prior to finalizing registration.

Once the training course starts, trainees will receive an invitation into the Leap™ training project.

Registration will close on D-Wave website on the Wednesday prior to the training start date.

For questions on the D-Wave training course or D-Wave Leap™ Quantum Cloud service access, contact training@dwavesys.com.  

D-Wave will manage the allocation of students to all training sessions. If more people are interested than there are seats for a training session, the remaining applicants will be offered places in a future session by D-Wave. Once all available training spaces are filled, the QAI application process will close.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions?

About the Program

  • https://learn.dwavesys.com/courses/quantum-programming-101-core

  • The program has space for up to 40 people in 2023. Additional spaces will open in 2024.

  • Training sessions are currently for up to 30 participants. Sessions are kept small to help foster communication and brainstorming between participants and the instructor.

  • Access is available for one month during the Quickstart training. After that time, additional time on the system can be made available by obtaining a QCaaS Educational license through D-Wave. Please note that training through the QAI program cannot be taken a second time.

  • The course runs for one week, with live instructor office hours offered each day during the week. If needed, learners have an additional one-week grace period to complete assignments. Most learners report spending about 25-35 hours in total to complete the course, depending on previous experience. After the week of training, all participants will have unlimited LeapTM quantum cloud access for one (1) month for the registered class attendee.cription

  • Remaining training session dates for 2023* are:

    December 4-8

    Please note: these dates are references only. To confirm the sessions offered by DWave and additional dates in 2024, please visit: https://learn.dwavesys.com/courses/quantum-programming-101-core

  • The program currently runs monthly

Eligibility

  • No. You don’t need to be a quantum physicist to get started with Leap. All you need to know is Python. From beginner to advanced, any developer can get started building and running quantum applications. Connect seamlessly and securely in the cloud, and easily start solving complex problems of up to 1 million variables and 100,000 constraints.

  • The D-Wave Quantum Computing Training @ QAI application and program are currently open to all faculty, students and staff at Canadian post-secondary institutions who have interests in quantum computing applications.

  • This training is well-suited for those interested in practical applications of quantum computing.  This could include experience in computer science optimization, materials science, financial portfolio optimization, or machine learning neural network models.

    Relevant background experience could include:

    • 5+ years professional experience with Python

    • Strong knowledge of probability, statistics and/or math

    • Experience with a version control software such as Git

    • Experience implementing complex algorithms

    • Experience building open-source applications to solve complex problems

About D-Wave & Quantum Computing

  • As a practical quantum computing company, D-Wave builds and delivers quantum systems, cloud services, application development tools, and professional services to support the end-to-end quantum journey. It is selling time on its systems as a way to solve optimization problems more generally—specifically those with practical implications. D-Wave systems use a process called quantum annealing to search for solutions to a problem.

    It also has an open-source hybrid workflow platform for building and running quantum-classical hybrid applications. D-Wave offers a hybrid platform that lets developers leverage the most appropriate computing resources for each part of their application, without worrying about the size and topology of the QPU. The hybrid platform also provides the flexibility for developers to experiment with different strategies for hybridizing their applications.

    D-Wave had a different architecture in the past to most quantum computing companies but made an announcement at Qubits 2021 that the company was working on its first universal quantum computers that can run Shor’s algorithm and other gate-model algorithms like QAOA and VQE.

    Now, the CQM solver supports continuous variables, enabling better representation of an even broader mix of constrained problem types. With continuous variables, developers can determine optimal vehicle routes by considering capacity, travel/wait times and distances; pharmaceutical companies can more deeply analyze patient outcomes of drug trials by reviewing trial duration, time-to-patient outcomes and number of iterations; and energy operators can more effectively deliver power to customers through models that address generator output, fuel consumption and emission, and storage levels.

  • The Leap™ quantum cloud service delivers immediate, real-time access to D-Wave’s Advantage quantum computer and quantum hybrid solver service, all with enterprise class performance and scalability. Leap provides access to a portfolio of hybrid solvers, enabling enterprises to address all kinds of business problems that range in size and complexity. Solvers include the binary quadratic model solver, the discrete quadratic model solver, and the constrained quadratic model solver.

  • Power consumption for computation is a serious and growing issue for the world. We rely more and more on computing in everything we do as we try to satisfy our ever-increasing thirst for mobile computing, automation, machine intelligence, cloud computing, and increasingly powerful supercomputers. Highly specialized coprocessors such as D-Wave’s quantum processing units (QPUs) show promise in significantly increasing the power efficiency of computing.

    In a recent study, D-Wave’s 2000-qubit system was shown to be up to 100 times more energy efficient than highly specialized algorithms on state-of-the-art classical computing servers when considering pure computation time, suggesting immediate relevance to large-scale energy efficient computing.

    Classical computing processes data in a binary space, which limits the volume of data it can handle and the decisions it can produce. This is also known as serial processing. Quantum computing, however, uses multidimensional processing.

    Here are several practical applications of quantum computing we could see in the future:

    AI and machine learning (ML)

    The capability of calculating solutions to problems simultaneously, as opposed to sequentially, has huge potential for AI and ML. Organizations today use AI and ML to discover ways to automate and optimize tasks. When used in combination with quantum computing, optimization can happen much faster and at scale, especially when processing and analyzing highly complex or even unstructured big data sets.

    Financial modeling

    With the modeling capabilities of quantum computing, financial organizations could use the technology to better model the behavior of investments and securities at scale. This could help reduce risk, optimize large-scale portfolios and help financial organizations better understand the trends and movements of the global financial economy.

    Cybersecurity

    Quantum computing could have a direct impact on privacy and encryption. Given the rapidly evolving nature of the cybersecurity landscape, quantum computers could help keep­­ data encrypted while in use, providing both in-transit and at-rest protections.

    Route and traffic optimization

    Optimal route planning is key to smooth supply chain logistics and transportation. The biggest challenge is harnessing all the real-time data — from changing weather patterns to traffic flow — that affects this planning. This is where quantum computers can excel. They could process all that data in real time and adjust routes for an entire fleet of vehicles at once, putting each on the optimal path forward.

    Manufacturing

    Quantum computers can run more accurate and realistic prototyping and testing. In the manufacturing space, this could help reduce the cost of prototyping and result in better designs that don’t need as much testing.

    Drug and chemical research

    Quantum computers can create better models for how atoms interact with one another, leading to a superior and more precise understanding of molecular structure. This may directly impact drug and chemical research and impact the way new products and medicines are developed. The predictive power of quantum computers could also provide foresight into how chemical compounds and drugs would develop, evolve, and interact with other elements over time.

    Batteries

    Quantum computing could help manufacturers better understand how to incorporate new materials into products such as batteries and semiconductors. This could provide more insight into how to optimize batteries for longevity and efficiency. Quantum computing can also help manufacturers gain a better understanding of lithium compounds and battery chemistry. For example, quantum computing could tap into and understand how the docking energy of proteins works, which results in better batteries for electric vehicles.