The Quantum Ideas Factory 2026 (Strasbourg)

A scientific hackathon in Strasbourg, France, where bright minds turn bold ideas into breakthroughs in quantum science and technology.

Adrae, Mar and Pijus share their experience as participants

During two days, the CESQ hall is taken over by ranges of tables of students collaborating together in a relaxed and studious atmosphere. The students work impassively while the CESQ researchers, impressed by the spectacle, tried not to disrupt the students’ creative flow. The whiteboards separating the tables quickly cover up in green, red and blue equations.

In between whiteboards, at table n3, Adrae is working on how to perform the quantum measurement of the free fall acceleration of an anti-atom. She is a 21-year-old Erasmus student in Brescia, Italy, studying electronics, photonics and microwave engineering.

She had already faced many hackathons during her Bachelor but this is the first time she faces such a challenge. She explains that it’s not just about solving equations, but facing a new problem, and addressing it from different angles.

Adrae can count on a very diverse team composed of students from photonics and microwave engineering, as well as from quantum and computer science. With these broad backgrounds and with the help of their mentor, each of them contributes on the part they are more familiar with.

For Pijus at table n7, a student in quantum sciences from the university of Copenhagen this was also a new experience compared to the computer science hackathons that he attended to during his bachelor in software engineering.

“It’s a little bit different from computer science hackathons because usually people gather with let’s say the knowledge of how to build stuff and then it’s just 48 hours and they’re just constructing”. “Here it’s more exploratory”.

Pijus learned about this hackathon in Strasbourg as a participant of the DigiQ network, which he describes as “a network of universities where students can collaborate and visit different research institutions and learn about how each institution is working”.

Just like Mar, who “says yes to any opportunity that comes to her hands” and registered to the event as soon as she saw the announcement in her local DigiQ discord channel. After her Master in quantum science of the University of Barcelona, her dream is to join a quantum software PhD in Europe, to “visit the world and learn other ways of doing research and other points of view”.

With her new-found group-mates and friends, she is tackling challenge n2, on the optimisation of water distribution using quantum algorithms.

“Most of us are physicists but there are also computer scientists and one person has studied AI. This is really interesting because maybe the physicists give a more theoretical approach to a problem but the computational and AI colleagues do amazing work with the code.”

More than the skills they developed during each challenge, this event has been a great opportunity for Adrae, Pijus and Mar to bond with people with a shared passion. “I’ve been to a lot of hackathons but this one, as we are all sleeping in the same hotel, it is giving us the opportunity to meet people from also other groups”. “It is really cool and we are making a lot of friends from all around Europe” says Mar.

For Pijus this Hackathon is about “the friends you make along the way”, “good connections and a new insight into this interesting quantum world”. For Mar it was also the opportunity to bring home some hard skills: “I’ve never used QAOA before so now I have a new algorithm for my quantum software future.” Finally, Adrae will recall the visit of the laboratories at CESQ, a special opportunity for her.

CESQ is looking forward to welcome more quantum passionates like Adrae, Pijus and Mar to take on the next challenges of the Quantum Ideas Factory!

Antoine Pintart

Event Details
Dates	23 – 26 March 2026
Participants	Master students and PhD researchers enrolled at European Universities
Type of event	Hackathon, Workshop, Seminar
Venue	European Center for Quantum Sciences (CESQ), 23 Rue du Loess, 67200 Strasbourg
Language	English
Wheelchair access	Yes
Registration required	Yes
Application deadline	5 January 2026 -> Apply Now

March 23rd to 26th, 2026

The Quantum Ideas Factory will provide a transformational learning experience at the interface between rigorous academic research and free interdisciplinary exploration. 40 participants will take part in a scientific hackathon, which will help them to develop practical skills and visionary mindset in key areas of quantum science and technologies.

During your stay in Strasbourg, you will work in a small group to transform raw research ideas into well-rounded concepts for research projects or innovative solutions to key challenges in quantum science and technology. Each challenge is proposed by an expert “mentor” from academia or the quantum industry but will be shaped by the team members themselves.

This event is organized within the EFEQT student network, which is part of the DigiQ initiative, but also open to external participants.

This event is a sister event to the Quantum Ideas Factory taking place in Jena, Germany. If you’re interested in attending that edition as well, you can find more information at: https://www.asp.uni-jena.de/16236/quantum-ideas-factory-2026

Application deadline: 5 January 2026

Program

Monday, March 23	Tuesday, March 24	Wednesday, March 25	Thursday, March 26
	8 am – 9 am: Late registration
	9 am: Opening and challenge introductions	8 am: Team innovation	8 am: Prepare presentations
	9:45 am: Start team innovation	Team innovation	10 am: Presentations and closing
	12 am: Lunch	12 am: Lunch	12 am: Lunch
	Team innovation	Team innovation	2 pm: Job fair
4 pm – 6 pm: Arrival and Registration	Team innovation	Team innovation
6 pm: City Tour	7 pm: Dinner	7 pm: Dinner
8 pm: Social evening	Team innovation	Team innovation

Challenge Topics

• Finding optimal codes for quantum error correction (Mentor: Martin Gärttner – Jena)
• Optimising water delivery under constraints (Mentor: Yann Beaujeault-Taudière)
• Quantum measurement of the free fall acceleration of an anti-atom (Mentor: Pierre Cladé – Paris)
• Quantum simulation of a scientifically relevant problem (Mentor: Matthias Weidemüller – Heidelberg)
• Entanglement spectrum of classically simulable quantum circuits (Mentor: Katja Klobas – Birmingham)
• Build and optimize a compiler to map a quantum algorithm to a neutral atom quantum computer (Mentor: Asier Piñeiro Oriol – Strasbourg)
• When is it possible to run quantum circuits on classical computers? (Mentor: Jérôme Dubail – Strasbourg)

Costs and Funding

Lodging and participation costs are covered. For DigiQ students, travel costs can be covered by the home institution.

Application

Master students, doctoral candidates, young researchers and postdocs with solid science background and an innovation mindset are welcome to apply! Although the focus of the boot camp is designed for quantum science and technology, we encourage interested applicants with any natural sciences background to apply. You should especially apply if you are considering future research topics for your Master or PhD in the field.

Successful participants will be selected based upon their CV and a short description of their motivation presenting their reason for applying, and notified briefly after the application deadline by email.

Application deadline: 5 January 2026

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is a beautiful city in eastern France, known for its historic architecture, European institutions, and vibrant cultural scene. The city is home to world-class research institutions and is at the heart of European quantum research.

Contact

For further questions please contact the organizers:

Cyrille Solaro <solaro@unistra.fr>
Stanimir Kondov <kondov@unistra.fr>
Youma Mucret<mucret@unistra.fr>