2nd All-Russian quantum hackathon starts at UNN
The 2nd All-Russian quantum hackathon Quant-NN started in Nizhny Novgorod on the campus of Lobachevsky University on November 13. The event is part of the programme “Quantum Week in Nizhny Novgorod”, which opened on November 11. More than 170 students, postgraduates and young scientists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Sarov, Krasnodar, Taganrog, Saratov, Novosibirsk and other cities of Russia and Belarus came to Lobachevsky University to take part in the hackathon. The programme of the event includes lectures, panel discussions, master classes, and round tables.
Oleg Trofimov, Rector of Lobachevsky University, addressed the hackathon participants with a welcoming speech. “The hackathon is successfully developing, becoming international. Quantum technologies are of great interest in society. Of course, they are only just gaining momentum. But it is already obvious that quantum technologies are the basis of important scientific discoveries of tomorrow. That is why for Lobachevsky University and for the whole Nizhny Novgorod region this is one of the priority areas. Rosatom State Corporation is our key partner on this path,” said Oleg Trofimov.
The topics of the hackathon are related to the field of quantum computing, testing of domestically developed emulators of quantum computing, design of quantum algorithms and their software implementation. Particular attention is attached to the practical use of quantum technologies in the real sector of the economy.
According to Alexander Tarasenko, Director of the Nizhny Novgorod Research and Education Centre, in 2023 the quantum hackathon demonstrated good results, so this year the programme was expanded to “Quantum Week”. Furthermore, this year there are more companies that are interested in the results of the quantum hackathon.
One of the participants of the event is Pavel Pikunov, a postgraduate student and employee of Lobachevsky University. He works in the laboratory of nanostructures theory and takes part in the hackathon for the second time.
“Quantum technologies are a new field, and the knowledge in this area is particularly highly appreciated. Overall, there are very few colleagues in Russia with whom you can communicate on this topic. It was very important to see them together here and to gain experience jointly. All those who participated in the hackathon had access to a prototype of a quantum computer. We could learn new methods of programming on this complex device,” said Pavel.
The 2nd All-Russian quantum hackathon will close on November 15 with an awarding ceremony for the best teams. On the same day, the results of the “Quantum Week” will be summarised. The “Quantum Week in Nizhny Novgorod” is organised by Rosatom - Quantum Technologies, the Nizhny Novgorod Research and Education Centre, and Lobachevsky University. The key partner of the project is the Russian Quantum Centre. Other partners of the event include Alekseev Technical University of Nizhny Novgorod, Minin University, the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Physics of Microstructures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Museum of Entertaining Sciences “Quarks”.
