Ireland Participates in Landmark European Quantum Academy Initiative
Ireland is among the countries developing the newly funded European Quantum Academy (EQA), a major pan-European initiative designed to strengthen Europe’s quantum skills, education and workforce ecosystem.
Bringing together more than 70 partner organisations and over 100 affiliated organisations from across over 20 European countries, the EQA will create a coordinated framework for quantum education, training, mobility and professional upskilling spanning schools, secondary education, higher education, research and industry.
”Europe has the research excellence and the community to lead in quantum technologies globally. Translating that into a workforce with the depth and breadth the sector will need over the coming decade is the work the EQA is here to do.” – Paraskevi Ganoti, Policy Officer, European Commission.
Backed by €19.8 million in funding, the EQA will act as Europe’s coordinating body for quantum technology education, supporting the development of the skilled workforce the sector will need over the next four years as quantum computing, sensing and communications move from the laboratory to the market. The Academy will also support the Choose Quantum Europe initiative, which aims to position Europe as the global destination of choice in a sector expected to exceed €155 billion by 2040.
See Quantum Flagship announcement here.
The EQA represents a significant milestone for Europe’s quantum ambitions and long-term technological competitiveness. By connecting universities, research centres, industry partners and public sector organisations through six regional quantum academies, the initiative will help address Europe’s growing demand for quantum expertise and support the development of a more connected and resilient European quantum ecosystem.
Ireland will participate in the initiative through the involvement of ICHEC (Irish Centre for High-End Computing) at the University of Galway, Walton Institute at SETU (South East Technological University) and Trinity College Dublin. The Irish participants will bring the national quantum skills ecosystem closer to other European partners contributing to the EQA network and its long-term quantum skills objectives:
- ICHEC will contribute expertise in advanced computing (QC and Quantum-HPC) infrastructure, digital skills development and ecosystem coordination. Its role in the project will support activities related to quantum workforce analysis, regional ecosystem monitoring and the development of training and upskilling pathways (microcredential courses and professional diploma in Quantum Computing and Programming) aligned with emerging quantum and high-performance computing capabilities. ICHEC also coordinates the links between EQA, the European Quantum Excellence Centre (QEX), EuroHPC QC integration and European HPC centres.
- Walton Institute at SETU will contribute expertise in applied ICT research, innovation and industry engagement. Its involvement will help connect academic and research activities with practical industry-focused quantum technology skills development and support collaboration between technology stakeholders across regional and European innovation ecosystems. Dr. Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research at Walton Institute coordinates the IrelandQCI project that is developing a national quantum communication infrastructure as part of the EuroQCI Initiative.
- TCD brings extensive expertise in quantum science research, education, and postgraduate training, centered on its MSc in Quantum Science and Technology at the School of Physics, established in 2021. Through the Trinity Quantum Alliance, it maintains direct connections with leading quantum companies in Ireland, fostering industry engagement. Within the EQA, Trinity co-leads the pillar on taught graduate education and one of the six Regional Quantum Academies, actively contributing to curriculum development, advanced training programs, and wider European collaboration to enhance quantum education pathways, support researcher mobility, and strengthen the quantum ecosystem across Member States.
The EQA bridges our national and European coordination efforts not just in quantum skills, but linking up Quantum-HPC platforms, services, training and education. We look forward to bringing together our ecosystem towards a quantum-enabled workforce.
– Venkatesh Kannan, Associate Director, ICHEC
Our involvement with the EQA allows us to bridge the gap between cutting-edge academic research and real-world industrial competencies in quantum technology.
– Dr. Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research, Walton Institute
The EQA allows us to integrate and expand our teaching and training in quantum science and technology to an international level. As an island country playing a decisive part at an international level requires strong links. The EQA lets us develop and strengthen those links for quantum education.
– Felix Binder, Assistant Professor, TCD
About the European Quantum Academy (EQA)
The European Quantum Academy is a pan-European coordination body for quantum technology education and workforce development, bringing together more than 70 partner institutions, over 100 affiliated organisations, and six Regional Quantum Academies. It coordinates activities across the full QT education pipeline and builds on the work of the Quantum Flagship coordination projects QTEdu, DigiQ, QTIndu, and QUCATS.
