Hackathons represent an exciting educational experience for programmers, coders, data scientists and other pursuits and have become ubiquitous globally in the last decade.

Quantum technologies, while nascent compared to other IT fields, hold hackathons as well. Quantum Futures & CERN hold their hackathon over a weekend dedicated to “hacking on quantum computers at the Fields Institute in Toronto, the world’s most renown mathematics institute.”

MIT annually holds IQuHack (interdisciplinary Quantum HACKathon) for high school to early career participants “to explore improvements and applications of near-term quantum devices.” Winners in 2023 are listed here along with their GitHub links.

The ICTP-Quantinuum Quantum Hackathon invites 18 international teams of students to the International Centre for Theoretical Physics “to learn and develop quantum algorithms and apply them in the context of real-world use-cases with leading industrial partners.” The hackathon starts April 17th, 2023.

Strategy

Strategy can be defined as “a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.”

Strategy includes diagnosing the problem to be solved, establishing a guiding policy to address that problem and then propose a set of coherent actions which will deliver that policy. Strategy and strategic planning can leverage a similar approach to hackathons. By bringing together people from multiple disciplines, strategic plans can be made more robust. Through a stratethon, quantum strategists can practice this process in a risk-free environment.

Optum, a United Health Group company, has held a stratethon over 4 seasons for 150 schools across India, Philippines and Singapore that “brings some of the best minds together to solve very real and current health care related problems byt also lets them battle it out with each other to identify the most innovative solution that could help improve the lives of millions around the world.”

Quantum Strategy Institute recently announced the International Quantum Strategy Day (IQSD) incorporating a stratehon model leveraging a compelling case study.

Here’s the call out for participants:

Calling all quantum strategists: on Wednesday, April 19th, the Quantum Strategy Institute is holding its first ever stratethon to celebrate people like you, the quantum strategists who are driving the adoption of quantum computing!

🌍 We’re looking for up to 5 teams of three to five people to put their skills to the test and create recommendations for how Bright Futures (a fictional, South African automotive company) can bring quantum into its business. 

🌍 You can get a jump start by checking out Bright Futures’ quantum Case Study and Strategy Assessment at: https://lnkd.in/grFSh6RT

🌍 All backgrounds and skill levels are welcome, you can register your interest here: https://lnkd.in/gGxAXDah

Registration for the IQSD closes on Wednesday, March 29th.

Given the complexity of quantum technology, we should expect to see more quantum stratethons in the future, and more quantum strategists joining the workforce.