City building a talent pipeline for a quantum-enabled workforce
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The Gig City Goes Quantum initiative is Chattanooga’s plan for student education, workforce preparation and business support to accelerate the local commercialization of quantum technologies.
To nurture the region’s budding quantum ecosystem, more than a dozen partners in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have launched a program to build local quantum IT expertise.
The Gig City Goes Quantum initiative will “build a new quantum ecology starting right here in Chattanooga, with student education, workforce preparation, and support of companies that are leading the way in translating quantum possibilities into real-world solutions,” Mayor Tim Kelly said in a statement.
The program will prime Chattanooga’s incoming and current workers for the integration of quantum technology in vital fields such as cybersecurity, computing, finance and health care, he said at the Quantum Economic Development Consortium’s plenary meeting today announcing Gig City Goes Quantum.
“Quantum learning has applications for students enrolled in both STEM and non-STEM disciplines as well as people already in our workforce to upskill their qualifications in anticipation of new applications,” Steven R. Angle, chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, one of the initiative’s collaborators, said in a statement.
Gig City Goes Quantum comes months after the announcement of the EPB Quantum Network, a partnership between the city’s municipal utility Electric Power Board and quantum network company Qubitekk. The quantum-as-a-service offering integrates the city’s fiber optic infrastructure with quantum equipment and software to enable government, universities and businesses to accelerate the commercialization of quantum technologies. The EPB Quantum Network will also support Gig City Goes Quantum.
“Quantum technology holds the promise for revolutionary, groundbreaking possibilities that change how we all live and work, which is why it’s so important to prepare students for the industry’s future,” Qubitekk President and Chief Technology Officer Duncan Earl said. “From protecting against cyberthreats and launching a next-generation internet to uncovering life-changing advancements in healthcare, education and other industries, today’s students will be the ones who will make these possibilities reality.”