Author: solvese

Last Tuesday, GoForIT hosted their annual conference. This year’s topic was AI, geopolitics & twin transition. It was a pleasure to see that the quantum agenda was included too. Clearly, Mali Hole Skogen, Technology and sustainability director ICT-Norway and the head of GoForIT, had not forgotten that she was there when Norway went quantum a couple of years ago.

There are good reasons for arguing that quantum technology will play a key role in the twin transition – the combined digital and green transition, which is anticipated by many. Therefore, it was with great enthusiasm we noticed that the program featured Alessandro Curioni, the director IBM Research in Zurich. You see him in to the left in the above picture – with the Norwegian IBM quantum ambassador Lars Nordbryhn to his left, and our own Shuakat Ali to the left of him.

A packed, attentive and tech-optimistic audience at the Sommero Hotel was explained how emerging quantum technology may change the world. The audience featured IT experts and management from both businesses and academia – in addition to politicians.

Afterwards, we also got to share some ideas with Alessandro on how to bring about quantum awareness in Norway.

Recently our faculty received funding from Ministry of Education and Research for 8 PhD positions. We are happy to announce that one of these will be allocated to a quantum-related topic. The project is lead by Kazi Shah Nawaz Ripon. We let him explain what it is about:

Quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithms (QEAs) are a type of optimization tool that have gained popularity in recent years due to their ability to solve complex problems more efficiently than traditional methods. QEAs use principles from quantum mechanics, such as qubits, superposition, entanglement, interference, coherence, and measurement, to improve their performance. However, most existing QEA implementations are designed for specialized quantum hardware, which is inaccessible to general users. Moreover, while traditional QEAs are effective for solving single-objective problems, most real-world optimization problems involve multiple interdependent objectives. Therefore, our aim is to develop a novel multi-objective QEA specifically designed for classical computing environments so that industries can use it to optimize their operations more efficiently. Ultimately, the goal is to advance optimization methodologies and facilitate broader access to cutting-edge problem-solving techniques in academic and industrial settings.

Sunday April 21st employees at the Oslo Metropolitan University had a very nice opportunity to give the rest of their families an impression of what goes on at their workplace. A lot of people, both young and old, found their way to Pilestredet 35 (P35), where they got served muffins, buns, chocolate milk, coffee and 3D printed pancakes. They also got to play with lots of fun and advanced toys. Among the activities where

• playing Beat Saber with VR goggles,
• creating funky beats and loops – and have small robots play them,
• constructing and shipping off small, rubber band driven boats,
• climbing the high wall in P35,
• making customized stickers and buttons.

And, last but not least, the visitors got to play Quantum Moves and program our first quantum computer Hugin – under the attentive guidance of our own Quantum Hub and ACIT master student Suleman Hersi.

Chances are that our familiy members are left with the impression that we who work at OsloMet are actually payed play all day. On a good day, that impression isn’t all wrong, I guess.

Again, we thank the Makerspace for putting together a wonderful event.

Read more about it here:

https://ansatt.oslomet.no/en/siste-nytt/-/nyhet/familiedag-til-inspirasjon-for-store-og-sma

It was true pleasure to host the Agora class from Akademiet Bislet Wednesday March 6th.

Fifteen eager and attentive learners found their way to our hub, where they heard about quantum theory and technology. And more importantly: The got to do it. They did so by solving the Schrödinger equation – analytically and numerically. And they were acquainted with our quantum computers Hugin and Munin – in addition to doing some quantum gaming.

We, the hosting scientists, Andre, Sergiy and Sølve, were all impressed – and challenged – by the questions we were asked. Impressive.

We also hope that some of the pupils were a little bit impressed – and tempted – by what we can offer at OsloMet. Perhaps some of them will apply to our newly established bachelor program in Mathematical modelling and data science, which Kristoffer presented towards the end of the program.

Although a bit weary with several oddities to digest, we do hope that our guests found this encounter with the quantum world to be an all together pleasant one.

We are really proud about having been a part of the Jenter og teknologi gathering held at Chateau Neuf February 15th.

Maryam Kaviani, along with Kersti Fosse Blålid and Notto Thelle from the OsloMet Makerspace and people from the University of Oslo, made it all happen.

About 400 girls from various videregående skoler was registered. They were given the chance to hear several impressive woman working within diverse fields related to technology. Their message was clear: We need more girls to choose a technological education!

At the event several technology oriented educations at the University of Oslo and at OsloMet presented themselves at various stands. At one of these our own quantum tech girls Ankana Singha and Maryam Lotfigolian were found – along with our two-qubit Hugin quantum computer. It was a true pleasure to see how they were approached by many aspiring young tech-savvy girls. The quantum tech future looks bright!