Program Details - Why Apply to Quanta?
Students trained through the Quanta program will acquire a unique set of skills and opportunities through an innovative approach that combines work in pan-Alberta collaborative research projects with an innovative set of learning opportunities: new courses on quantum nanotechnology, training in strategic management of innovation and entrepreneurship, career development workshops, and industry development days.
Through links to industry, access to state-of-the-art facilities (including those for nanofabrication), and opportunities for "entrepreneurship microloans" where they can test new ideas, students will find fertile ground for learning and innovation.
Built-in professional skill development
Quanta students will take part in professional skill development tasks above and beyond their traditional physics training. Trainees will:
GAIN EXPERIENCE IN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
TAKE ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT ROLES
- formulate and meet milestones
- produce and present progress reports
DEVELOP THE SKILLS TO COMMUNICATE RESEARCH & INNOVATION
CULTIVATE AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
- complete the Alberta School of Business "Strategic Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship" course
- partake in monthly Quanta group entrepreneurial meetings
- participate in targeted career-development courses
Cross-institutional and multi-sector training
To achieve our objectives in exposing trainees to a broad range of quantum technologies and to strengthen their ties with industrial partners, trainees will participate in annual workshops and summer schools.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Quanta graduate students will attend and participate in yearly Quantum Alberta Workshops organized around exchange between:
- academic and industrial partners in Alberta (Norcada, Applied NanoTools, Resolved Instruments, and Quantum Silicon Inc.),
- globally (QA2016 speakers included D-Wave, Google's Quantum Lab, and Microsoft Research),
- and include participation from governmental stakeholders, such as the Department of National Defence (a financial supporter of QA2016) and CIFAR.
Here, trainees will network with leading quantum nanotechnology developers and receive expert-level industrial feedback on their quantum technology research.
HANDS-ON TECHNICAL TRAINING
All Quanta students will have access to the UAlberta nanoFab; with ⇡$110M in specialized nanofabrication equipment, by all measures this is Canada's biggest and best nanofabrication facility.
In addition to being easily accessed by Quanta trainees, the nanoFab is open to-and heavily used by-our industrial partners. This means that students trained on specialized nanofabrication and characterization tools are highly sought after by such companies, since they already have a jump start on product development.
Career support and excellent prospects
A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF INDUSTRIAL PLACEMENT
The Quanta Program provides advanced industry-oriented training and placement through strong industrial partnerships.
Graduates from member labs are excelling in quantum and nanotechnology industries:
- Davis lab students work in Canadian companies D-Wave Systems and Avalon Holographics, and have spawned a student-led electronics hardware start-up, Resolved Instruments;
- Tittel Lab graduates have joined PMC Sierra and General Dynamics Canada;
- and DeCorby Lab graduates work at Micralyne, Norcada, and the Alberta Centre for Advanced Micro & Nano-Technology Products.
PROMISING & VARIED CAREER POSSIBILITIES
Students from member research laboratories have gone on to careers including:
- Research scientist
- Nanofabrication engineer
- Technology-company entrepreneur
- Industrial management, finance, or technical sales
- Government research & development (R&D) scientist
- Academic scientist
Supplementary support
SEED FUNDING / MICRO-GRANTS
Quanta has allocated funds for entrepreneurial micro-project seed grants and will facilitate technology transfer to the market place with support from experienced entrepreneurs.
Students will have the opportunity to apply to finance:
- exploratory ideas,
- product development,
- or market analysis
and will be given the time and access to laboratory equipment to develop these projects.
TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES
Quanta dedicates a portion of the budget to student travel:
- to seed and sustain cross-institutional projects and to enhance collaborations,
- and to support student travel to workshops and conferences related to quantum nanotechnology development.
This includes travel within Alberta, as well as to national and international collaborators.