The First Indian Institute Became An IBM Quantum Network Member: IIT Madras

IIT Madras becomes the 1st Indian institute to be a member of IBM Quantum Network – a community of 180+ Fortune 500 companies. IIT Madras has now got the chance to work on the progress of Quantum Computing skills in India – which is great news! 

On September 12th, IBM announced that the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) is now a member of the IBM Quantum Network. According to the announcement made by the American technology corporation on Monday, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT) will be a part of the IBM Quantum Network, becoming the 1st Indian university to do so.  

IBM Quantum has 180 global members. Every member of this community works on the future of Quantum, and now IIT Madras is also a part of it. IBM Quantum Net. is a multinational community of Fortune 500 organisations, educational institutions, start-ups and research labs using IBM Quantum technology to enhance quantum computing and investigate real-world applications. 

As a network participant, IIT-Madras will have cloud-based accessibility to IBM’s world-class quantum computing platforms and quantum knowledge to investigate real-world applications and boost quantum computing research and skill development in India. Given that quantum computers need facilities that can operate at extremely low temperatures near zero Kelvin (-273 degrees Celsius), IIT Madras will have cloud-based access to these machines.

Being part of the world’s top Quantum community, IIT Madras aims to take advantage of improving quantum computing, skill development, and research in Indian industries. 

“We are jointly investigating the practical applications of quantum computing for business and society at large with the Indian Institute of Technology. The goal is to support the government’s initiative to establish a true quantum infrastructure in India, re-educating the labour force, and make technology more accessible to business,” said IBM chief executive Sandip Patel.

The director of IIT Madras, Mr V. Kamakoti, recently said, “We intend to continue this relationship to greater heights and aim at setting up an IITM-IBM Quantum Innovation hub at the institute.”

IIT-Madras joined IBM’s Quantum Education Program to facilitate their faculty and students last year. The institute provided them with access to IBM’S quantum learning resources, quantum tools, and system for education, research, and analysis. Further, the IBM-IITM also jointly offered a course on quantum computing to over 10,000 participants.