Lauren Paquette, a master’s student at the University of Toronto (U of T) in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, says Quantum Days 2026 exposed her to the breadth of work in the Canadian quantum ecosystem.

“As a student researcher, my time is spent delving deeply into one very specific area of quantum technology. It was such a wonderful experience to take a step back and hear how so many different people are tackling the same problem from different sides,” Paquette says.

Quantum Days is a flagship Canadian quantum conference. Held in February, it brought together hundreds of people from academia, industry, and government to explore the landscape of quantum information science in Canada and globally.

The Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC) is a long-time partner in the conference and supported several undergraduate and graduate students in participating in this year's event, which was held in Victoria, B.C. The conference moves to a different Canadian quantum hub each year and last year, CQIQC hosted Quantum Days 2025 at U of T.

CQIQC’s Quantum Strategic Initiative Lead and Quantum Days organizing committee member Anna Dyring says CQIQC is a partner and supporter of Quantum Days because of the role the annual event plays in bringing together the entire Canadian quantum ecosystem.

“Canada is a large country, and our quantum hubs are spread out from coast to coast,” says Dyring. “Quantum Days unites quantum experts, policy makers, companies that are developing novel technologies, students who are the next generation of researchers and many more in the quantum community.”

Students provided their perspectives in a panel discussion

Several CQIQC-affiliated students participated in a panel about quantum student life.

The wide-ranging discussion included themes such as teaching as a graduate student and balancing research and training, and also highlighted CQIQC and U of T programs such as the undergraduate summer research program and the Erasmus Mundus Quarmen Master (QUARMEN) program. Students also discussed the importance of student-led initiatives like the Q-SITE conference and the U of T Quantum Computing Club.

Students on the panel included Paquette along with Michael Silver and Andrea Barbieri, undergraduate students; and QiLin Xue and Jakub Garwola, PhD students.

“I think our panel showed a great diversity of experiences at U of T facilitated by the CQIQC,” says Barbieri. “We heard from undergrads like me doing summer research, graduate students who came from abroad, students in different departments like engineering and physics, for example. It was fun to go on stage and share my experience being a part of CQIQC.”

Silver says the students’ enthusiasm for quantum computing came through in the discussion.

“Many U of T student researchers view quantum computing not just as time spent in the lab, but as a genuine passion and a community we’re invested in and hope to help grow,” says Silver, who is an engineering student and co-president of the U of T Quantum Computing Club.

Paquette says the panel was a great representation of different areas the students are working in or most interested in. For example, Paquette is doing research in experimental quantum photonics, Barbieri is interested in condensed matter physics, Silver is focused on distributed quantum computing, and Garwola is conducting research in the theory of open quantum systems.

Conference gave students a chance to engage with broader community

Garwola, a PhD student in the Department of Physics, says the opportunity to network with people from academia and industry across Canada was a highlight of the conference. Along with other student volunteers, Garwola represented CQIQC in the career fair and exhibitor zone. And he, along with several other CQIQC and U of T students, presented a poster.

Alexander Greenwood, an engineering PhD student at U of T received an honourable mention for his poster, “Random Party Distillation on a Superconducting Processor.”

Paquette, also a poster presenter, says the poster session was her conference highlight.

“I had so many valuable discussions with students from across Canada doing work both related to and different from my own,” she says. “I learned a lot.”

For Silver, the poster session provided an opportunity to present research to world-class expert attendees. “I got some excellent feedback and further directions to take, as well as advice for skills I should develop.”

He adds that the connections made at Quantum Days can help aspiring quantum computing researchers like him see the directions the field is moving in.

“Quantum Days always has many strategic and timeline-related talks and panels that show where investments are being made both academically and in industry,” he says.

Other CQIQC members and initiatives represented

CQIQC-affiliated researchers and students also played an active role throughout the three-day conference.

Grier Jones, a post-doctoral fellow at U of T’s Edward S. Rogers Sr. Electrical and Computer Engineering, was part of a panel discussion called, 'Distributed Quantum Computing: Toward Error-Corrected, Scalable Quantum Systems.' Jones also presented in another session focused on the Quantum Software Consortium, a major research collaboration led by U of T Professor and CQIQC member Hans-Arno Jacobsen.

CQIQC faculty member Sergio de la Barrera presented a talk called, ‘Quantum Sensors on a Tip: Advancing Nanoscale Imaging.' Barrera is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at U of T, investigating novel electronic phenomena in low dimension materials.