IDEA LEAGUE SUMMER SCHOOLS 2023

The IDEA League Summer Schools 2023 have drawn to a close, leaving a trail of inspiration, learning, and unforgettable experiences. From August 28 to September 1, the TU Delft / Politecnico di Milano Summer School on "Computational Design for Additive Manufacturing" unfolded on the scenic TU Delft Campus in the Netherlands. Following that, the RWTH Aachen Summer School, themed "Scalable Quantum Computing - From First Principles to Market," took place from September 11 to 15 at RWTH University Campus in Aachen, Germany.

Our postgraduate student, Ms Nur Amalina Lai Shan Shan (PhD, SPMS) attended the Summer School at RWTH Aachen Summer School. She shared her testimonial on her experience.

“The IDEA League Summer School on Quantum Computing was packed full of activities and gave me ample opportunity to not only learn from experts in the field, but also meet many fellow students with similar interests and great ideas I got to learn about.

I very much enjoyed the lab tours and seeing the spaces in which people worked on such research. We also had the opportunity to hear from industry players and learn more about the ideas they had and the limitations they were experiencing, which is always interesting to hear from as someone who has little insight on this on a day-to-day basis. I now have a much more rounded perspective on quantum information and computing, not only built out of my research interests as it was previously, but also based on what many others are doing to begin to implement scalable quantum computers.

As mentioned, the summer school not only provided excellent lectures, but also helped me to meet people in various fields — not just quantum computing. While there were people who were working on the implementation of quantum computers, such as engineers working on integrated systems with semiconductors and Silicon chips, there were also others who were working on things such as material sciences, and it was interesting to hear more about their work and experiences in school. Some of them also had interesting ideas which I am really looking forward to hear more about and check in on their progress in the future. I also got the chance to learn more about their countries, lifestyles, and cultures through daily conversations with them over lunch and dinner.

Finally, I also got the chance to explore the beautiful town of Aachen through visits to their historical buildings and parks. As a group, we also visited some co-working spaces and heard from the owners how they worked with both SMEs and start-ups to foster an environment that promotes innovation and collaboration across all players.

All in all, no words can really express the amount of gratitude I feel towards both IDEA League for extending their invitation to the summer school, to Lisa (from RWTH Aachen) for organizing and managing everything, and NTU OIE for sponsoring my travel expenses. The summer school has been a great opportunity that I am deeply privileged to experience, and it has broadened my horizons in ways I did not expect.”