Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to invite you to the VCQ & quantA Summer School 2026 on "Reaching Quantum Advantage: From Foundations to Applications." This event will take place at the Ludwig Boltzmann Hörsaal, Boltzmanngasse 5, University of Vienna from September 14th to 18th, 2026.
As quantum technologies continue to develop at a rapid pace, an important question remains: which advances are genuinely rooted in uniquely quantum features? With this summer school, we aim to highlight how research in the foundations of quantum theory can help identify and clarify this so-called quantum advantage, while at the same time inspiring and enabling new applications.
The school is designed for Master’s and PhD students with interests in either quantum foundations or quantum applications, and especially for those who wish to engage more deeply with the other perspective. By bringing together these communities, we hope to foster exchange across theory and experiment and across areas such as computation, communication, and metrology. This broad scope is reflected in our lineup of distinguished speakers, whose work spans a wide range of approaches to quantum advantage:
Andrew White (University of Queensland, Australia)
Eugene Polzik (Niels Bohr Institute & University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
Giulia Rubino (University of Bristol, United Kingdom)
Jessica Bavaresco (Sorbonne University, France)
Radim Filip (Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic)
Markus Müller (IQOQI & University of Vienna)
Soonwon Choi* (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States)
*TBC
In addition to the lectures, we strongly encourage the participating early career researchers to showcase their research during our poster session, which will be one of the many opportunities that the School will provide for networking and socializing. These activities provide a great opportunity for participants to connect and exchange ideas - and, of course, enjoy the idyllic Viennese summer.
Registration & Fees:
Deadline: 30.6.2026 (places are limited!)
Fee: € 175 for external students (includes dinner & coffee breaks)
VCQ & quantA students: Free registration for all affiliated with VCQ/quantA institutions (however, a no-show without prior cancellation may result in a fee and impact participation in future VCQ/quantA events)
For more details and registration see please visit:
https://vcq-quantum.at/vcq-quanta-summer-school-2026/
We look forward to welcoming many of you to Vienna for this exciting event!
Best regards,
The Organizing Team:
Carla Richter
Edward Gheorghita
Lorenzo Papa
Patrick Andriolo
Samarth Hawaldar
