Conference: QLCI Leap Forward Career Conference

Workforce development in quantum information science and engineering (QISE) is important for continued leadership in this emerging area, and for empowering high technology industries of the future. To explore and facilitate pathways for careers in QISE, this project will support a workshop. It will bring together graduate students and colleagues from a network of NSF-funded Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes (QLCI). There will be opportunities to engage with representatives from several dozen companies and potential employers in QISE related industries, and to discuss salient issues in career development for early professionals in QISE. Participants will build professional connections and relationships with peers that support workforce development and future collaborations for emerging scientists and engineers across the growing quantum ecosystem. The QLCI Leap Forward Career Conference is scheduled for April 11-12, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. The first day will facilitate a larger number of QLCI student trainees from across the nation to participate in the Chicago Quantum Exchange 2024 Quantum Recruiting Forum. Both days will include QLCI-focused and student-focused programming to elucidate career pathways and strategies for career development in QISE-related areas. Engagement with representatives from the Quantum Economic Development Consortium and representatives from several QLCI projects will provide participants with a broad range of perspectives and opportunities. The NSF conference grant will partially defray travel costs so that a larger number of QLCI trainees and students will have the opportunity to participate and build relationships with potential employers. Attendees will learn from quantum-focused industry professionals, faculty, researchers, and near peers (e.g., graduate students and postdocs). A key objective of the QLCI Leap Forward Career Conference is for QLCI students and trainees to advance their knowledge of professional and research opportunities within the QLCI network and in the broader ecosystem of quantum information science and engineering. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.