Workforce
Emphasis on Education
As an NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute, Q-SEnSE emphasizes education, training, and workforce development as part of its overall mission to advance quantum information science and technology in the U.S. We have adopted a broad-spectrum approach, addressing multiple career stages and incorporating multiple education and training modes.
Education and Workforce Initiatives
Other current plans for Q-SEnSE Education and Workforce initiatives are available as a Gantt Chart.
In the Classroom
PhD — The CU Boulder Physics PhD program offers a Quantum Information Science track for Physics students who meet the prerequisite requirements. In parallel, the University of New Mexico, a Q-SEnSE Partner, is designing an interdisciplinary program in which select Physics and Engineering students progress jointly in advanced studies of quantum in both disciplines.
Professional Masters —The College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder, in collaboration with the CU Physics Department, is developing a Professional Masters program with stackable credentials and distance learning options. The first offerings are scheduled for spring, 2021.
Undergraduate — Upon implementation, Engineering and Physics undergraduates at CU Boulder may elect a minor in Quantum Engineering, delivered jointly by those two units.
Pre-University — For younger and prospective Scientists and Engineers, our QLCI is engaging with the world-renowned program to design, develop, and deliver an interactive module that instills an elementary understanding of the difference between the familiar classical world of the macroscopic and the profoundly unintuitive quantum world that governs at atomic and smaller scales.
In the Lab
Graduate Level — Q-SEnSE will train PhD students in research groups at Partner organizations, with a general emphasis on quantum science and engineering and in particular aspects of those fields represented by the various research groups and collaborations among them.
Quantum Forge — Modeled after a traditional Senior Capstone Project, our novel "Quantum Forge" will allow advanced undergraduates in Engineering and Physics to form small teams and undertake mentored projects to design, build, and test devices of practical use in quantum laboratories.
With Partner Organizations
Our QLCI will facilitate a Research Exchange Marketplace to match a small number of advanced science and engineering undergraduates from around the country with quantum-related internships at partner companies and at our National Lab Partners Sandia, Los Alamos, and NIST.
Education and Workforce Pipeline: How NSF funding, funneled through Q-SEnSE, will produce graduates at all levels with the quantum knowledge and skills desired by industry (Click to enlarge)