Building a Quantum Engineering Undergraduate Program

Abstract

A roadmap is provided for building a quantum engineering education program to satisfy U.S. national and international workforce needs.Background: The rapidly growing quantum information science and engineering (QISE) industry will require both quantumaware and quantum-proficient engineers at the bachelor's level.Research Question: What is the best way to provide a flexible framework that can be tailored for the full academic ecosystem?Methodology: A workshop of 480 QISE researchers from across academia, government, industry, and national laboratories was convened to draw on best practices; representative authors developed this roadmap.Findings: 1) For quantum-aware engineers, design of a first quantum engineering course, accessible to all STEM students, is described; 2) for the education and training of quantumproficient engineers, both a quantum engineering minor accessible to all STEM majors, and a quantum track directly integrated into individual engineering majors are detailed, requiring only Manuscript

Auditing the ‘Social’ of Quantum Technologies: A Scoping Review

“…It is argued that education has to link more business schools to the quantum industry [67], and that there is a need to raise the "profile of quantum technologies amongst the public and within education syllabuses to facilitate discussions about the role of these technologies in society" [65] (p. 4). It is noted that "along with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, consideration of social, societal, ethical and sustainability issues of QISE would be beneficial, in line with directions in engineering education worldwide" [83] (p. 10). It is recognized that there is a need for increased "social support for undergraduate researchers through designated cohorts" because this "can help them build community with their peers and see themselves as engineers and scientists, something that is often difficult for marginalized students who do not see themselves reflected in the celebrated leaders of the field" [83] (p. 16).…”

“…It is noted that "along with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, consideration of social, societal, ethical and sustainability issues of QISE would be beneficial, in line with directions in engineering education worldwide" [83] (p. 10). It is recognized that there is a need for increased "social support for undergraduate researchers through designated cohorts" because this "can help them build community with their peers and see themselves as engineers and scientists, something that is often difficult for marginalized students who do not see themselves reflected in the celebrated leaders of the field" [83] (p. 16). It is suggested that "a quantum awareness or concepts course" on the undergraduate level, if possible in the first year, "to introduce students to the field early" would be beneficial [83] (p. 18), and that new courses are already being developed [84].…”

“…It is recognized that there is a need for increased "social support for undergraduate researchers through designated cohorts" because this "can help them build community with their peers and see themselves as engineers and scientists, something that is often difficult for marginalized students who do not see themselves reflected in the celebrated leaders of the field" [83] (p. 16). It is suggested that "a quantum awareness or concepts course" on the undergraduate level, if possible in the first year, "to introduce students to the field early" would be beneficial [83] (p. 18), and that new courses are already being developed [84]. At the same time, it is recognized that the teaching of technical students on the 'social' aspects of technologies is lacking [85][86][87][88][89][90].…”

“…The focus on the non-social in quantum research thus far is understandable given the early stage of quantum technologies; however, it is an opportunity to engage with the 'social' in a differentiated way giving voice to marginalized groups including researchers from marginalized groups. It is noted that there is a need for increased "social support for undergraduate researchers through designated cohorts" because it "can help them build community with their peers and see themselves as engineers and scientists, something that is often difficult for marginalized students who do not see themselves reflected in the celebrated leaders of the field" [83] (p. 16). However, from an EDI perspective, it has to include undergraduate students as researchers from all EDI groups including disabled undergraduate students as researchers, which is, for example, a group missing from the EDI research agenda in general [201] and the quantum technologies-focused academic literature of the 'social' in particular.…”

The interdisciplinary quantum information classroom: Themes from a survey of quantum information science instructors

“…Researchers in engineering and CS education have engaged in similar efforts in more interdisciplinary QIS contexts [26,27]. Recent work has begun to create a roadmap for comprehensive QIS education at the undergraduate level and beyond [28,29].…”