Explore Quantum Computing
This October, join us for an introductory lecture, careers panel, and coding workshop. Hosted at the University of Bristol in collaboration with IBM Quantum.
About the Event
Four sessions designed to help you embark on your quantum computing journey with confidence. Register now to attend.
Quantum and Qiskit 101
Learn about basic concepts in quantum computing, and the fundamentals coding with Qiskit. Hosted by a speaker from IBM Quantum (speaker TBD). No prior knowledge assumed.
Quantum Careers Panel
Explore possible careers in quantum computing, with experts in both industry and academia. We are pleased to welcome speakers from Riverland, Phasecraft, and University of Bristol's QIST CDT. Click here for more information on the speakers.
Picnic Social
Get to know other students interested in quantum in a friendly, laid-back social setting.
Qiskit Coding Workshop
Gain hands-on experience coding in Qiskit. We will provide Jupyter Notebooks which walk you through examples of modelling chemical systems using quantum computers, and our team will be available to help and offer guidance. Please check out the Resources page for prerequisite downloads, so you have more time during the session to crack on with coding! If you cannot attend live, we will also be offering coding help on our discord server.
Getting Started
If you want to get involved, follow these 3 easy steps.
Register
Register interest on our EventBrite page.
Join our Discord server
Find resources, ask questions, and meet others in the community.
Download Qiskit library
Prepare for our coding workshop by making sure you have the necessary installations.
Our Speakers
Thank you to the speakers who have agreed to help with this event. The first speaker, from IBM Quantum, will be leading the Quantum and Qiskit 101 session. The other three speakers will be speaking in the Quantum Careers Panel.
TBA
IBM Quantum
An IBM speaker will lead the Quantum and Qiskit 101 session. More details TBA.
Faisal Alam
Quantum Algorithms Scientist at Phasecraft
Faisal graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with degrees in physics and mathematics. He received a PhD in physics, with a focus on quantum algorithms, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a 2-year stint at Los Alamos National Laboratory. His research interests are centred on compilation of quantum algorithms to hardware and on classical simulation of quantum systems. In the past Faisal has worked on gravitational waves and bound states in quantum field theories. Outside of physics, Faisal’s time is spent reading and writing fiction. He is also interested in history and philosophy, and enjoys weightlifting and cricket.
Tamsin Sandhu
Associate Research Engineer at Riverlane
Tamsin Sandhu is an associate research engineer at Riverlane, where she models new scientific ideas from Riverlane's research team and helps translate them into Deltaflow, the company's product. She holds a degree in mathematics from Cambridge and a master's in applied mathematics from Imperial, and joined Riverlane's graduate scheme in 2025. Tamsin also leads Riverlane's annual Bertha Swirles QEC Workshop, which supports women entering the quantum industry - a cause she is personally passionate about, having entered the company through the same route herself.
TBA
PhD Student at QIST CDT, Bristol
More details TBA.
Resources
We recommend preparing before attending the coding workshop with these resources in order to improve your learning experience. More resources are available on our Discord server.
Download Qiskit library
LOCK IN UPDATE THIS.
Set up an account with IBM Quantum
Create an account with https://quantum.cloud.ibm.com/ to submit code to real quantum computers.
Further reading: Quantum Country
We recommend [https://quantum.country/] as a well-structured introduction to basic ideas in quantum computing.
Our Team
An event organised by University of Bristol students, for University of Bristol students.
Katie Hoffelner
Lead Organiser
Katie Hoffelner graduated with a First Class MSci Physics degree from the University of Bristol in 2026. Her research focused on evaluating entanglement between fermions as a potential resource for quantum computing. She is also committed to science communication, with experience including 2 years public speaking and 1 year writing for the Science & Technology section of Epigram. In her free time she enjoys weightlifting, climbing, and juggling; she is currently learning to juggle 5 balls!
Moon Devendra
Organiser
MSci Mathematics graduate.
Eleanor Prideaux
Organiser
Eleanor Prideaux is a fourth year Msci Physics student at the University of Bristol. She has studied Quantum Information Theory and is currenty studying Quantum Computing. She has experience in teaching, tutoring second year physics students, often explaing quantum mechanics concepts. In her free time she enjoys crocheting, swimming and running.
Alexander Wood
Organiser
Alex graduated with a First Class MEng Computer Science, and is starting a PhD at the Bristol Programming Languages Research Group. He is a passionate educator about all aspects of Computer Science, working as a Teaching Assistant alongside his PhD, and for the School of Computer Science on University Open Days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can't find what you're looking for? Join our Discord server and our team will be available to answer questions.
Who can come to the event?
The event is open to all students currently enrolled at the University of Bristol. Please register before attending.
Is the event free?
Yes!
Do I need to know anything about quantum computing?
No, our sessions are designed to provide value to everyone, regardless of prior knowledge. However, if you want to get more out of the event, we would recommend checking out our Resources page to learn more.
I won't be available to attend all the sessions, is that okay?
Attendance at all four sessions is recommended but not compulsory. Please register even if you only plan on attending one session. For those who can't attend the coding workshop but would still like to try out the exercises, our team will be available on our Discord server to help out.
Do I need to prepare anything before the event?
Our coding workshop will make use of the Qiskit library on Python, which will need to be installed. We highly encourage you to work through the Resources page which will help you making the necessary installations, so that you can spend more time during the session working on the coding exercises. The first three sessions don't require any preparation, just show up ready to learn!
Contact Us
If you plan on attending the event, we recommend that you join our Discord server. Our team are available on this server to help you out.
Thank you to IBM Quantum who help organise Qiskit Fall Fest every year. Qiskit Fall Fest is a global collection of quantum computing events, primarily aimed at undergraduate students.