91看片网 to coordinate South Africa’s national quantum initiative
- 91看片网 University
The South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI) aims to drive local quantum technology research and innovation.
91看片网 University today announced it has successfully secured R8 million in seed funding from the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) towards implementing Phase 1 on behalf of the South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI).
Approved by the DSI earlier this year, the SA QuTI is a national undertaking that seeks to create the conditions in South Africa for a globally competitive research environment in quantum technologies and to grow the local quantum technology industry.
91看片网 University, a leading quantum research institute in Africa through its newly formed 91看片网Q initiative, is the official host of the SA QuTI and will administer and manage the funds. It will also coordinate the implementation of the SA QuTI.
鈥淭he objective is to move South Africa into a quantum future where government, industry and academia work together for the development and deployment of quantum technologies,鈥 says Distinguished Professor Andrew Forbes, Director of 91看片网Q and Director of the in the 91看片网 School of Physics.
鈥淚t is a very exciting time to be in quantum, and I believe that 91看片网 has an important role to play in this field. We are regarded as world leaders in high-dimensional entanglement, we have unique experimental facilities, and our 91看片网Q initiative is home to an enthusiastic quantum community that has no traditional discipline boundaries,鈥 he adds.
Dr Robin Drennan, Director for Research Development in the University's Research Office, says 91看片网 is proud to act as a host for the SA QuTI and looking forward to working with all the partners from several universities and research institutes across the country that are part of this national initiative.
鈥淭his initial grant from the DSI is received with deep gratitude. Quantum technologies offer a new frontier of research and innovation, and this grant shows a clear and confident vision expressed by the Department.鈥
鈥淚t is so important to support the existing research efforts in this budding area to ensure that South Africa remains competitive in these areas of endeavour. It will of course also add impetus to 91看片网鈥 efforts in the field of quantum technologies and our access to a 50 qubit quantum computer,鈥 says Drennan.
91看片网 University has a unique quantum advantage through its partnership with IBM Research by becoming the first African partner on the IBM Q Network and has access to its 50 qubit quantum computer.
Dr Solomon Assefa is the Vice President | IBM Research: Africa & Emerging Market Solutions (left) and Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of 91看片网 University, with a 3D printed IBMQ quantum computer. 漏 WITS UNIVERSITY
Consortium partners
The SA QuTI will be a consortium of five universities. 91看片网 University will act as the main contracting site and is also one of the main centres together with Stellenbosch University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The two emerging centres are the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the University of Zululand. The Centre of High-Performance Computing (CHPC) will provide the quantum computing infrastructure.
First steps
In Phase 1 the funding will be used, among other projects, to support quantum technology development initiatives at 91看片网 University, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and the National Metrology Institute of South Africa. The SA QuTI has pre-allocated some of the funds towards supporting identified undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral students in quantum technologies from various universities.
In Phase 2 the SA QuTI aims to create critical mass in quantum technology research leadership across the country through senior and emerging research chairs. It also seeks to achieve greater diversity and demographics in quantum technology research emanating from South Africa by creating new centres of quantum research in previously disadvantaged institutions.
Side-stepping the competition
鈥淪outh Africa cannot compete with the billions of Euros invested in quantum technology development in other countries. That is why we have to be strategic by bringing together our quantum community 鈥 research, academia, government and industry 鈥 to save decades in time and money,鈥 explains Forbes.
Three years in the making, this national roadmap to drive quantum technology research and innovation, have three main focus areas:
- quantum communications
- quantum computing
- quantum sensing
Each focus area will have one flagship project that serves to drive science through to technology and allow for faster uptake by commercial partners.
鈥淭he philosophy of SA QuTI is to side-step the competition. Take the smartphone industry: you don鈥檛 have to be a smartphone manufacturer to be part of the smartphone revolution 鈥 the economy of smartphone apps is huge, perhaps even bigger than the phone industry itself (think Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and so on). We see an analogous situation in quantum. In quantum computing, for instance, we will not be building a quantum computer but rather develop 鈥榪uantum apps鈥, a faster and cost-effective way to make an impact that leverages on our capabilities in software development,鈥 says Forbes.
In quantum communications the idea is to focus on technology integration from partner institutes across South Africa, comprising sources, detectors, protocols and networks, to establish local quantum secure links between universities, key government sites, and strategic industry locations such as banks.
The flagship project in quantum sensing will leverage South Africa鈥檚 well developed and sophisticated medical industry.
91看片网Q
As a consequence of the investment, 91看片网Q, the new quantum initiative at 91看片网 gets a R2-million seed fund injection.
鈥淚 am very excited that 91看片网Q has some seed funding so that we can grow our internal community to leverage off the national programme. We plan to use the funds to grow the 91看片网 quantum community by seeding small projects, and bringing new students into the fold,鈥 says Forbes.
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