Qiskit, an open-source software development kit platform, has recently started the ‘Understanding Quantum Information and Computation’ course series on YouTube. The course is said to be at par with University programs across the world for advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate students.
Richard Feynman and Yuri Manin both originally presented the concept of quantum computing in the 1980s. By using principles from quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to process data, quantum computing offers processing capabilities that are vastly superior to those of classical computing. Applications range from economics to machine learning, forecasting the weather, and genetic research. It is anticipated that a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer would further both scientific and economic advancement to new horizons.
Even at this nascent point in the development of the quantum computing industry, the accelerating development of the creation of quantum applications and architecture will only expedite the potential applications being discovered in mainstream industries. As a result, the quantum computing field is ripe with opportunities. Thus, students with knowledge of quantum computing are in great demand.
The ‘Understanding Quantum Information and Computation’ course series by Qiskit will be taught by John Watrous, Technical Director of Education at IBM Quantum. In the overview YouTube video, Watrous reveals to have started learning about quantum computing in 1994 and has been imparting his expertise on the subject since then. The main objective behind the Qiskit quantum computing series is to offer educational content to those interested in learning about this emerging technology.
Watrous mentions that students need to have pre-requisite knowledge about mathematical concepts like linear algebra, including vectors and matrices, complex numbers, sets and functions. He adds that students need not have a specialized background in quantum physics nor quantum computing before starting this course.
Read More: Physicists compress 100,000-equation Quantum Physics Problem into 4 Equations
Unit 1 of the ‘Understanding Quantum Information and Computation’ series will focus on the basics of quantum information, including quantum states, measurements and operations, quantum circuits, and examples like quantum teleportation. Unit 2 will be centered around explaining quantum computing algorithms like Shor’s algorithm and other key quantum algorithms in use today. In Unit 3, Watrous will offer deeper insight into quantum information and how it can be described using density matrices and the relevance of density matrices in quantum information. Lastly, in the final Unit, viewers will get an understanding and mitigation of the effects of noise on quantum computers.
Lesson 1 of the series is live on YouTube.
