Quantum computing will change the world as we know it. Yet no in-depth quantum education exists for K-12 students and beyond. We're changing that.
In collaboration with IBM Quantum, we're offering the first ever year-long quantum course for 5,000 high school students and above . Complete with weekly lectures and labs led by TAs, students will be introduced to the field of quantum, including quantum mechanics, quantum computation, and quantum algorithms. Through the course, students will even run a program on a real quantum computer.
No prior quantum computing or STEM knowledge is required.
Our goal is to make quantum education accessible to everyone. The course is open to high school students and above. For high school students, you will be one of the first K-12 students to gain in-depth knowledge in quantum computing.
The course runs from October 18, 2020 through May 15, 2021. There are breaks for winter and spring holidays. All course instruction is live and virtual.
Each Week, there will be:
Each lecture is two-hours long: an hour of theory and an hour tutorial walking through practice problems. Lectures are live on Sundays at 11am-1pm PST, but recordings will be available for those unable to attend.
At the end of each lecture, students will receive a homework assignment, practice problems, or a lab to complete. Recitation sections are 1 hour long, in which a TA will go over the homework assignment and answer students' questions. Recitation sections will take place Tuesday - Saturday. A recording will be available for students unable to attend.
This course is University of California A-G approved to receive transcript credit for all high schools who accept UC A-G accredited courses. Learn more >
1. You are eligible to receive transcript credit for this course from your high school by asking your high school to add this course to their A-G list. 2. In addition, The Coding School is in the process of becoming accredited by The Accrediting Commision for Schools Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) which would enable all students to petition their high school to receive transcript credit for this course - not just limited to UC schools. We will notify participants of WASC accreditation status in early 2021. 3. We will provide more details to anyone wanting to talk with their high schools about receiving transcript credit for this course. Please contact us: quantum@the-cs.org
This is an introductory course in quantum computing. The aim is to expose students to this emerging field while providing them with real-world programming skills for quantum computers. In the course, students will learn about the foundational concepts in quantum computation, including superposition, entanglement, superdense coding, and quantum teleportation.
The first half of the course will focus on the necessary prerequisites that students need to delve into quantum computation, such as math, programming, and physics concepts. The second half of the course will introduce students to the foundational concepts in quantum computing.
Amir graduated from MIT with a B.S. in Physics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and an M.Eng in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2018. He is currently a graduate fellow in MIT's EECS department and a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. His research motivation is to use quantum mechanics to gain an advantage over current technology and protocols. As an undergraduate he worked with Dirk Englund on control and high fidelity readout of NV centers in diamond.
Francisca Vasconcelos is currently pursuing an MSc in Statistical Sciences at the University of Oxford, through the Rhodes Scholarship. She graduated from MIT in 2020 with a BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Physics. Through undergraduate research in the MIT Engineering Quantum Systems group as well as internships at Rigetti Computing and Microsoft Research Quantum, Francisca has worked on quantum measurement of superconducting devices, statistical learning for error mitigation, machine learning for quantum, and radiation studies. Furthermore, Francisca is very interested in education, serving as a course instructor for MIT’s winter-term Intro to Quantum Computing course for two years and leading The Coding School’s QxQ academic team.
The course is open to high school students and above. Priority will be given to high school students.
Math requirement: must have a strong understanding of trigonometry, such as sine and cosine. These are usually taught in high school geometry courses. Knowledge of vectors and matrices is good but not required. All mathematical topics beyond trigonometry will be covered in the course.
The statement should be between 300-600 words, and students should discuss future career goals and aspirations, prior STEM courses they have taken, and why they are interested in learning more about quantum computing. We do not expect students to have prior STEM or quantum knowledge. We are looking for students who are passionate, curious, and those who will benefit from learning more about the field of quantum.
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