Swiss-Canadian Quantum Symposium Launched in Calgary

As part of “Swiss Innovation Meets Alberta,” quantum experts from both countries gathered to strengthen partnerships and build new connections.

October 30, 2024 | Calgary

Switzerland and Canada are two countries with strong bottom-up traditions of excellence in quantum research and innovation. To deepen the connection between these leading ecosystems – and to celebrate an recently established partnership between quantum stakeholders in Basel and Calgary – the Embassy of Switzerland in Canada, the State Secretariat of Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI), and the Swissnex network together organized an inaugural “Swiss-Canadian Quantum Symposium” in Calgary, Alberta, in October 2024.

Taking place October 3-4 at Platform Calgary, the symposium featured more than 15 speakers from the Swiss and Canadian quantum ecosystems. Representatives from major quantum hubs in Geneva, Lausanne, Basel, Zurich, Vancouver, Calgary, Ontario, and Quebec convened to discuss potential for international collaboration. The Symposium also welcomed the participation of the Ambassador of Switzerland to Canada, Olaf Kjelsen, along with Thomas Schneider, Consul General of Switzerland in Vancouver. The event was organized by Urs Obrist, Swiss Science and Technology Counselor in Ottawa, with Brendan Karch from Swissnex in Boston moderating key discussions.

The Swiss-Canadian Quantum Symposium was proud to highlight the ongoing partnership between QAI Ventures, a Swiss-headquartered investment fund and accelerator for quantum and AI technologies, and Quantum City, a Canadian cross-sector quantum center hosted at the University of Calgary. As part of their collaboration, QAI Ventures is establishing its North American hub at Quantum City, where they will provide a suite of services for nurturing the commercialization of quantum technologies and talent. QAI Ventures and Quantum City first made contact at the Swissnex Quantum Summit in October 2023, and launched their partnership in April 2024. The first edition of the QAI Ventures Canada accelerator program will take place in early 2025.

Immediately following the Symposium, QAI Ventures organized a GenQ Quantum Computing Hackathon from October 4 to 6. The event was co-sponsored and supported by the Embassy of Switzerland, Presence Switzerland, and SERI and attracted almost 100 participants to solve four quantum challenges related to sustainable development goals. The “Swiss Innovation Meets Alberta” program continued on October 9 at the University of Calgary with a forum on cleantech acceleration and commercialization. With these linked events, Switzerland is working to both expand the Swiss imprint on the science, technology, and innovation landscape of Alberta, and nurture connections across the two countries in quantum technology, sustainability, and other critical fields.