The time has come for Q-Con 2024, the grand conclusion of two weeks dedicated to quantum technology and mechanics at UG. The international event attracted prominent experts from around the world - including prof. Charles H. Bennett and prof. Harald Weinfurter - as well as the authorities of the city of Gdańsk. The speakers talked about issues in quantum physics and everything related to it - education, technology, regulation and start-ups.

‘Today's conference perfectly crowns two weeks of intensive activities dedicated to quantum technology and theory, from the summer school to the hackathon to the other attractions prepared by prof. Marcin Marciniak and his team,’ opened the event the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski. ‘Welcome to our university and make yourselves at home!’ he addressed the gathering.

The introductory lecture was given by prof. Harald Weinfurter from Ludwig and Maximilian University in Munich, who held the Named Chair of Honour for Wacław Szybalski in the academic year 2023/24. The Austrian physicist talked about the first attempts by modern scientists to define quantum mechanics as part of his talk entitled ‘Quantum mechanics. ‘What is Quantum?’.

An eminent expert in this field, honorary doctor of the University of Gdańsk, prof. Charles H. Bennett, talked about the potential of quantum technologies. The speaker tried to predict whether quantum technologies will become as popular and useful as computers, among others. ‘Rather few people remember, but when computers were first created in the 1940s, one of the first things they tried to use them for was automatic translation,’ he said. 'We had to wait a while for that - about half a century - but we finally got there. It could be the same with quantum technologies.'

Vice-Rector for Education dr Ewa Szymczak, prof. UG also talked about the future of quantum technologies and other sciences, but in the context of education. The marine geologist talked about the various factors that encourage or deter young people from pursuing careers in STEM fields. During the talk, the speaker particularly highlighted the under-representation of women in the sciences. ‘Research shows that women are much more afraid of learning mathematics, engineering and technology than men, especially in Poland,’ said prof. Ewa Szymczak.

It was also time for the official conclusion of the 2024 Quantum Summer School. Diplomas were presented by two special guests of the conference.

‘I am incredibly grateful that students from all over the world are coming to Gdańsk. I firmly believe that exchanging experiences and building bridges between people simply contributes to a better reality,' said the Mayor of Gdańsk Aleksandra Dulkiewicz.

The President of the Office for Personal Data Protection, Mirosław Wróblewski, talked about the challenges facing cyber security experts and the preparations of the European Union and other countries for a world with quantum technologies, including not-so-distant quantum cryptography.

The first part of the event ended with a discussion on quantum education, attended by the President of the Educational Foundation ‘Perspektywy’, dr Bianka Siwińska, the Principal of Secondary School No. 2 in Gdańsk, Dorota Suchacz, and the Director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics , dr hab. Marek Krośnicki, prof. UG. The talk was moderated by Rita Łyczywek, Head of Technology at the CODE:ME Foundation.

In the second part of the event, start-ups related to quantum technologies were talked about by their CEOs and co-founders. Together, 4 companies were presented:

• Sequre Quantum - created the world's only device that can detect a hacking attack in real time. Presenters: COO of Sequre Quantum dr hab. Marcin Pawłowski, prof. UG.
• finQbit - which aims to accelerate computing in the financial industry using quantum technologies. Presenter: CEO of finQbit Tomasz Ćwik
• levelQuantum - a start-up working on quantum cyber security in, among other things, communication and data transfer. Presenter: CEO prof. Magdalena Stobińska
• VeriQloud - working on data security based on quantum cryptography. Presenter: VeriQloud CEO dr Marc Kaplan

The conference also featured speakers who talked about, among other things, the possibilities of quantum artificial intelligence, a commercially available quantum computer or the limitations of quantum technology regulation. The event concluded with a panel entitled ‘The Quantum Race - How to Shape the Future of Quantum?’, featuring prof. Magdalena Stobińska, CEO Tomasz Ćwik, dr inż. Marcin Nowakowski and IQM Quantum Computers vice-president Sylwia Barthel de Weydenthal. The discussion was moderated by Innovation Tech Lead at Kainos Patryk Jar.