Microsoft Garage partners with IIIT-H for quantum computing initiative

Microsoft Garage India has partnered with the Indian Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-H) to provide resources and lectures on quantum computing.

Garage is an initiative of the US-headquartered technology giant that encourages employees to participate in small-scale innovation projects.

Microsoft said in a statement that it would offer students at IIIT-H a practical experience in quantum computing and quantum algorithms through the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit and Microsoft Q#.

Microsoft experts will conduct lectures as part of the Quantum Information and Computation integrated IIIT course, which also has field projects. The subject will be an elective for B.Tech and M.Tech students.

Students will have access to Microsoft’s GitHub resources, samples and libraries, it added.

Microsoft said that its 15-year expertise in quantum computing and its community of developers and scientists would help Indians hone their skills on the subject.

“This collaboration with Microsoft Garage India and IIIT Hyderabad is part of our continued effort to enrich the innovation journey of engineering students and make technology more accessible,” said Dr Krysta Svore, general manager of Quantum Software at Microsoft.

Professor PJ Narayanan, director at IIIT-Hyderabad, said that the institution has a small team of faculty and students who work in the sphere of quantum computing.  

“Our students will receive hands-on experience for practical project work on solutions which can impact society,” he said.

Microsoft Garage was launched in 2014 to encourage employees to work on projects they like, even if it has no primary relationship to their work within the company. The global programme has its headquarters in Washington, US with several other centres across the globe.