- 'Quantum physics and quantum technologies are among today's greatest scientific challenges. This is a very good time for such ambitious research initiatives because currently, quantum technologies are of interest not only to scientists but also to governments and large commercial enterprises such as IBM, Google or Microsoft. Soon, this research may bring enormous economic benefits,' - says prof. dr hab. Paweł Horodecki, who heads a research group dealing with quantum resources within the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies[1] (ICTQT).

Blue indicates the countries of origin of ICTQT staff and students and red indicates the research groups collaborating with ICTQT.

Quantum theory was pioneered in 1925 and has helped us to understand what chemical bonds are. Quantum theory created the transistor - the basic building block of every modern electronic device; lasers or ultra-sensitive detectors used in research telescopes and... the cameras in our phones; nuclear magnetic resonance is widely used in medicine. - 'All of these use large ensembles of quantum systems containing at least 1,000,000,000,000 atoms; lasers spit out unimaginable numbers of photons in a fraction of a second. This was and is the first technological quantum revolution, - prof. dr hab. Marek Żukowski, director of ICTQT and leader of one of the research groups.

Until recently, quantum technologies of the so-called second-generation remained mainly in the realm of purely academic considerations. In recent years, however, we have observed rapid development of experimental techniques that allow us to control quantum effects on the level of even a single atom. This entails the development of novel applications and products based on subtle quantum effects and increasing interest from the business. - 'The quantum industry is emerging before our eyes and everything points to the fact that the coming years will resemble the period of the industrial revolution of the late 19th, early 20th century and the fundamental social changes associated with it,' explains dr Marcin Górzny, Head of the Research and Development Section at ICTQT.

According to scientists, private investors, as well as governments, are beginning to realise that we are on the eve of fundamental changes and we are observing an unprecedented increase in investments in the development of quantum technologies in the world and Europe. In Poland, we have a solid academic base with great achievements in building scientific foundations for the development of quantum technologies. In Poland, Bell's correlations (these correlations are inexplicable on the grounds of classical physics and are used, among others, in quantum cryptography) started to be seriously studied in 1987, at the University of Gdansk. Because of this early start, many fundamental papers on quantum entanglement and quantum information were written. - 'Poland has a huge scientific potential in the field of quantum mechanics, but to play an important role in the European Quantum Technologies Flagship[2], it needs new research institutions focusing on quantum technologies, which have adequate funds, can employ the best international specialists and train new staff for the needs of science and industry. The International Centre for Quantum Technology Theory is just such an institution,' - explains prof. Marek Żukowski, ICTQT director. Hence, the need to create a programme for the development of such technologies in Poland. It should be mentioned that quantum technologies are not only quantum computers (incomparably faster in computing than those used so far), but a whole host of other technologies that can be developed at a lower cost: sensors, algorithms or cybersecurity solutions.

That is why the scientific community dealing with quantum research in Poland has formulated a letter of intent on coordinating activities for the development of quantum research and technology in Poland. Among the universities involved in the project were: Warsaw University, University of Gdansk, Centre for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Wroclaw University of Technology and the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

- 'Poland has a good starting position in quantum research. However, following the example of other European countries, it is necessary to develop and implement a national programme supporting quantum research as soon as possible, with stable financing, allowing the integration of the efforts of several centres. This is the last moment for such decisions, the "world" is running away,' - warns prof. dr hab. Marek Żukowski. In his opinion, without stable, targeted funding from the budget, ICTQT will not stand the test of time and Poland will fall out of the quantum 'first league'. - 'Investment in quantum technologies is a unique opportunity for the Polish economy. As a community, we are signalling that we have the intellectual background and organisational foundations to make quantum technologies an important branch of the Polish economy. It is estimated that by 2050 the quantum technologies market will be worth 300 billion dollars, we must take part in dividing this cake,' - explains dr Marcin Górzny.

ICTQT has existed for less than three years. - 'We are trying to look for solutions that would ensure continuity of this undertaking. We have been successful, we have managed to create a very strong international team, we have ambitious plans. We hope that together with other research units we will be able to convince the government that investment in research on quantum technologies is an investment that will pay off many times over,' concludes prof. Marek Żukowski.

Let us remind that the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies (ICTQT) was established within the structure of the UG as a joint unit of the UG and IQOQI-Vienna (Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences) and is financed by the International Research Agendas programme implemented by the Foundation for Polish Science, co-financed by the European Union from the funds of the Operational Programme Intelligent Development 2014-2020, priority axis IV: Improvement of scientific and research potential (Measure 4.3). The unit's five-year budget is PLN 35,000,000.00.

[1] The International Centre for Quantum Theory Technologies (ICTQT), was established within the structure of UG as a joint unit of UG and the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IQOQI-Vienna).

[2] A flagship programme of the European Union with a budget of €1 billion. Over a 10-year horizon, the project will fund the research of more than 5,000 leading quantum scientists and aims to put Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution.