Why QGSS-2020 was a quantum breakthrough for me!
Let’s start from the beginning which was like 6th June, I was just scrolling through the internet but then I randomly came across something which was the Qiskit Global Summer School. I was curious to what it was as it seemed quite intriguing and overwhelming at first. I thought it was one of those things where it would be beyond my scope and I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Regardless of it, I took some time to read the web-page and came to know that the requirements weren’t much. I came to the conclusion that let’s enroll here what’s there to lose. The course outline was very intriguing and gave a good overview of all the basics about the field. Cut to the 20th I got the mail in the morning to join the QGSS discord and as soon as I saw it I was very excited. It felt like it was the beginning of something great. Immediately I joined discord and seeing this gave me the chills.
After going through the discord, I found people from across the world with different backgrounds, universities, and mind-sets. But there was one thing common among all of us which was every one of us was very passionate in the field of quantum computing. This was something completely new to me as before this I thought quantum computing to be still in the development stage and was taking baby steps. Naturally, I was astonished to see so many people interested in the field. Even though there were so many of them I can without a doubt say, everyone in the community was very friendly and wholesome. They made me feel part of their community too.
Week-1
Day 1–2
I was just thinking it was the end for surprises but then the first lecture of QGSS began. Where the lecturer was Elisa Baumer and hosted by everyone’s favorite Brian. She gave a beautiful and interesting introduction to qubits, quantum states, measurements, and circuits. There were more than 2600 participants who were watching it live. I had never been to an event where there were so many people. Even if the event was virtual, that’s still so many people! Just speaking quantitatively there were participants from 100 different countries and most of them were students. Just as I was recalling the lecture, the first lab session came given by the one and only Abraham Asfaw. This was fun and I got to learn new things too. I don’t think the first day could be made any better than this honestly!
The second lecture was again hosted by Elisa ma’am where she continued to where she left. She gave us insightful knowledge in a very understandable way about quantum algorithms which includes Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm and Grover’s Algorithm. I had some knowledge about the algorithms before-hand but now with the lecture and the lab, I was crystal clear about them.
Day 3–4
Lectures 3, 4 were taught by fan-favorite Abhram Asfaw where he gave an incredible explanation of Quantum Fourier Transformation, Quantum Phase Estimation, and the world-renowned Shor’s algorithm. All of the topics were explained in detail but somehow Abe managed to make it understandable to even beginners like me. This is one of the reasons why Abe is a fan favorite of not just QGSS but the entire qiskit community. Just as a cherry on top Abe again gave extremely good lab sessions as well which were very interactive and interesting.
Day 5
Lecture 5 was on Quantum Error Correction taught by the amazing James Wotton. James sir gave such a fabulous lecture where he gave so much information in one lecture in a very simplified way. Which I must say is a very difficult job to do but he managed to do a very good job. He also gave very good analogies which helped to understand concepts much clearly. The lab session also helped very much to give a great overview of QEC.
Just like that week 1 was over and I realized that I learned so much in a week that I couldn’t even imagine. Abe told us this was a semester worth of content that still surprises me to this day. I took some time at the weekend to recall all the things taught in week 1 as to be properly prepared for week 2.
Week-2
Day 6–7
The first two days of the week-2 were on Superconducting Qubits taught by the marvelous lecturer Zlatko Minev. These two days I got to learn so much about Superconducting qubits from qubits in the cloud to qubit from oscillator to Transmon qubit and ending on a high note with understanding how they’re measured. I felt these two lectures gave me a very good idea of what is going under the hood of a quantum computer and why does all of this work. The lab gave me an idea about how to implement all of this in the real world which was quite thrilling.
Day 8
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about this day as I and chemistry have a long history of trouble we don’t go along well just to put it lightly. Astonishing the lecturer Antonio Mezzacapo somehow made even chemistry very interesting to me which I had always considered by Arch nemesis of mine. After this lecture, I must say my view towards chemistry has changed and it’s all due to Antonio sir. He taught us about constructing qubit hamiltonians for molecules and variational quantum algorithms in such an intriguing way that I was truly enjoyed by it. With lab clearing all the doubts that I had and making me also interested in the field.
Day 9
This lecture we continued where we left by my favorite lecturer of the entire QGSS, Abhinav Kandala. Sir started by giving an excellent recap of the things which were taught in the past days. This recap was very informative and make made some things quite understandable to me which weren’t before. Sir was crystal clear he took his time explaining every topic in detail and took his time at every topic happily. Then he took us back to chemistry where he taught us about Variational Quantum Eigensolver, Tapering of qubits, Trial State Preparation, and many more things. I felt for that lecture, I got to learn so many things by such a fantastic lecturer. Just to show-off sir also gave the best lab session of the entire QGSS which was very interesting and informative.
Day 10
Last but not least was the panel discussion about how to get a job in quantum computing by experts in the field like John Preskill, Jay Gambetta, Marina Radulaski just to name a few. Hosted by the amazing Amira Abbas at the qiskit youtube channel. The panel was very enlightening and informative for beginners and even experts in the fields. I would like to share a quote by John sir, “Listen to no one, just do what makes you happy and have fun along with it” which is one of the best things I have ever heard.
Finally, the journey of #qgss has come to an end. Though It ended I have great memories and friends who I will remember for a long time. Thank you to all the lecturers for enlightening us with their knowledge, the hosts of lecturers for adding a bit of entertainment in the mix, moderators for making it a smooth experience, and the TA’s who helped us and clear our doubts. I would just say don’t miss out on QGSS-21 if they do one and enjoy it as much as you can.
