TU Wien:Hybrid Quantum - Classical Systems VU (De Maio)

Daten

Zuordnungen

Masterstudium Data Science	Modul BDHPC/EX - Big Data and High Performance Computing - Extension (Gebundenes Wahlfach)
Masterstudium Software Engineering & Internet Computing	Modul Distributed Systems and Networking (Gebundenes Wahlfach)

Inhalt

It mostly follows what is written in TISS, with one or two guest lectures added. The course does not involve working with actual quantum computers. Instead, you learn the fundamentals of how quantum computers operate and what their capabilities are—where they have potential advantages and where classical computers remain superior. You will also learn how to formulate quantum problems and solve them using quantum computer simulators such as Qiskit.

Ablauf

WS24: There was one lecture each week (attendance not required). No recordings were provided, but the slides were uploaded to TUWEL. There were three exercises during the semester: the first two had to be completed individually, and the third was a group project for 2–3 people. At the end of the semester, there was a final exam.

Benötigte/Empfehlenswerte Vorkenntnisse

A basic understanding of linear algebra (vectors, matrices, eigenvalues) is required, although all essential concepts are reviewed at the beginning of the course. Prior knowledge of quantum mechanics is not necessary, but it can make the lecture easier to follow, since many problems that can be addressed with quantum computers are rooted in quantum mechanics (e.g., determining the ground-state energy of a molecule).

Vortrag

The professor used both the blackboard and slides. A script was provided for everything written on the blackboard. The lectures were presented in an engaging and accessible manner, and the professor was always willing to answer questions and revisit concepts when needed. Some topics were also presented by PhD students conducting research in the respective areas, as well as by other professors specializing in those fields.

Übungen

There were three exercises in total. The first two had to be completed individually (with two weeks allotted for each), and the third was a group project (one month to complete).

• Exercise 1: Linear algebra, basic quantum gates, simple quantum circuits (to be solved on paper)
• Exercise 2: Grover’s algorithm, Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs), VQE, QAOA, and programming with Qiskit
• Exercise 3: Computing molecular energies using quantum algorithms

Prüfung, Benotung

The final score was composed as follows

• Assignment: Basics of Quantum Information Theory – 10%
• Hybrid Quantum Algorithms Assignment – 15%
• Final Group Assignment – 25%
• Written Exam – 50%
• Assignment Presentation – 5%
• Bonus Exercises – 10%

To pass the course, at least two assignments had to be graded positively, and the exam also had to be passed.

Exam: The exam consisted mainly of open, high-level questions about the concepts covered in the lectures. If I remember correctly, there was only one exercise that required performing an actual mathematical calculation.

The grading was fairly generous for both the exercises and the final exam.

Dauer der Zeugnisausstellung

noch offen

Zeitaufwand

noch offen

Unterlagen

noch offen

Tipps

Make sure to plan enough time for the exercises, especially those involving Qiskit programming. The Qiskit API changes quite frequently, so online resources may be outdated and finding fixes can be challenging. In addition, running the programs for the exercises can easily take several hours to complete—even on modern hardware—and sometimes you only realize after waiting for two hours that you made a mistake on line 2. :)

Highlights / Lob

It’s an interesting field where computer science and physics come together, and it’s pretty cool that a course like this is offered at all.

Verbesserungsvorschläge / Kritik

• Response times on the TUWEL forum were quite long, sometimes taking up to a week.
• The code examples provided in the slides often didn’t work because the Qiskit interfaces had changed and the specific Qiskit version was not specified
• the exercise descriptions were sometimes unclear and confusing.

Materialien

Neues Material hinzufügen

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• HQCS 2024 Group Assignment.pdf (details)
• HQCS Exercise 1 solution.pdf (details)
• HQCS First Assignment 2024 final.pdf (details)
• HQCS Second assignment 2024.pdf (details)
• HQCS-ASSIGNMENT2-solution.zip (details)