Quantum Tech camp brings skills training to regional and rural students for the first time
Students in regional Australia have gotten a taste of the Quantum world through the third Quantum Tech Camp run by the Sydney Quantum Academy.
The camp covered questions about using data at an atomic level, how a single particle can be in two places at once, and pathways into careers in quantum.
Emelia Hosking, 16, is a student at the Central West Leadership Academy, which hosted the camp in person.
“I wasn’t very aware of the quantum world at all before this, and I didn’t realise that quantum computers existed,” Emelia said.
“But it’s been really fun learning about quantum mechanics. I liked learning about superposition and interference, and how that can help you to figure out really long and complicated problems.”
Jett Pearse, 15, also a student at a school taking part in the camp, was interested in the behaviour of particles at the sub-atomic level.
“They’re very contrary to what you see around you in the world,” he said. “But I really enjoyed how you can use those aspects to solve a lot of problems in ways that are really, really unique.”
“I really enjoyed concepts like Schrodinger’s cat – that it can be both dead and alive at the same time, and then you can’t really figure out what it is until you observe, or measure it,” said Riyon Dharmwardane, 15.
“And I liked the coding part … that was the most interesting for me.”
The camp was held on 21-23 May 2024, and was a mixture of in-person classes by physicists and online presentations by researchers working at the frontiers of quantum science.
Interested in more STEM events? Head to our Teacher’s 2024 guide to STEM Events!
