IIT Madras opens India’s quantum research doors, joins IBM’s quantum computing network | Digit

One of the most exciting topics of discussion of late in the world of tech has been of quantum computing. Adding to that was the recent announcement made by IIT Madras that the premier engineering and research institute of India is joining hands with IBM to gain access to their quantum computing tech and take research and development to the next level.

This announcement was made on Monday when the top brass of both institutions got together to make this announcement, much to everyone’s excitement. The collaboration between IBM and IIT Madras is aimed at “accelerating the research, adoption, skilling and application of quantum computing to address business and societal challenges in India.”

Opening new doors to new possibilities

It would help jumpstart the quantum computing ecosystem. Quantum computing is a fundamentally new technology that is seeing a rise in popularity in a world where tech is maturing at a rapid pace. So, this collaboration would open the doors to the professors, students, and researchers at the university to lay their hands on this era-defining technology and make important developments by harnessing the computational prowess of quantum computers.  

The question that might come to everyone’s mind at this time would be, why not set up a system at the institute itself? Answering this question was Amith Singhee, Senior Technical Staff Member and Manager, Cognitive Operations and Environmental Analytics

India Research Laboratory, Bangalore, who remarked, “…it allows an instant start to the work.” The deployment of a quantum computing system requires a lot of time and resources. So, it makes sense for the institute to collaborate rather than spend time and resources setting up a system on such a large scale.

IBM’s Qiskit Runtime overview

The collaboration aims to accelerate the discovery of problems and solutions in different areas of our daily lives. Things like drug discovery and research relating to the discovery of new materials for electric vehicles are currently hindered due to the limited capabilities of the computers that we have right now. The solution to this problem lies in quantum computing. 

According to the experts who were a part of the panel discussing the possibilities that quantum computing would open in India, the country is right at the top of the charts when it comes to countries using quantum tech. The stakeholders, both at the industry level and the academic level are self-educating, providing a vital push to the quantum computing ecosystem in the country. In the long run, this would lead to the convergence of academia and the industry, fostering an environment where research would see significant boost and improvements.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in.