Quantum Entrepreneurship Laboratory

Interdisciplinary | Applied Quantum Research | 6 ECTS (Technical), 3 ECTS (Business)

The Quantum Entrepreneurship Laboratory is a project-based course that brings together students of different backgrounds to work on selected problems in quantum computing deemed industry-relevant by academic partners, ultimately pitching it as a commercial product in front of a panel of quantum industry partners.

You will delve deep into an applied research topic as a group to become experts and push quantum research forward, while learning to think like an entrepreneur.

With the help of an interdisciplinary team, you will learn to assess your own ideas for commercial viability and turn them into a presentable product.

Defining a product is no easy feat, especially in deep tech. That's why you will receive guidance from coaches already knowledgable on these topics as well as networking connections needed to get a real feel of the quantum industry.

Deliverables

There are several deliverables in this course that are intended to jump-start both your research and entrepreneurial career. The technical students will work on real research problems and package their final results into a research paper format. In cooperation with business students, you will then assess this idea for viability as a product and iron out the details of exactly what you would need to turn this into a startup. Finally, all together you will pitch this idea as a startup in front of a panel of industry and academic experts. This panel will be announced as soon as the semester starts rolling.

Timeline

This course consists of four major phases. Technical students will take part the entire semester (6 ECTS), while business students will join at the midterm as described below (3 ECTS).

1. Ideation Phase

In the first few weeks, the technical students will meet eachother and be presented a list of ideas we have accumulated that we see as industry-relevant research topics. You will then be assigned into groups of three based on your desired topic. You will then begin to dig into the idea before presenting it in the lecture to the other students. Simultaneously, you will receieve lectures on these specific topics that are actively being worked

on by our academic partners.

2. Midterm Phase

Around the midpoint of the semester, you should have a deeper understanding of the problem and how it could impact industry or become a startup idea. This will be presented in a similar format to the ideation, however, with a catch. At this point in the semester, the business students will join. This will be seen as a networking event and a sort of pitch in which business students will decide which technical projects they want to take further. Technical and business teams will then be matched in order to assess the ideas internally and decide where a product could be developed.

3. Demo Day

The newly formed interdisciplinary teams will now work towards building a true startup pitch that will be given in front of a panel of experts. This phase will teach your ability to collaborate with people from different backgrounds, require you to analyse your own idea for any holes, both technically and commercially, as well as test your ability to concisely condense it into something understandable by a diverse audience.

4. Final Deliverables Phase

After your exams, you will develop both a technical paper detailing your research as well as a business white paper outlining all the details of the product's viability and the monetary and personnel costs needed to create a startup. This phase is meant to facilitate any next steps following the course, whether that be publishing the technical paper with a research group or starting a true startup.