Mandatory rollout aims to upskill millions of engineering students across Tamil Nadu and India in quantum computing.
The Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Q-CTRL, the global leader in quantum infrastructure software, has announced a partnership that kickstarts quantum education in India through a first-of-its-kind statewide rollout.
Q-CTRL’s Black Opal, an award-winning workforce development platform for learning quantum computing, will become a mandatory learning module for engineering students within the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation’s (TNSDC) Naan Mudhalvan Upskilling Platform.
The global quantum workforce is drastically understaffed, as evidenced in a McKinsey report predicting that less than half of projected quantum computing jobs will be filled by 2025. To close the quantum skills gap, talent will need to be tapped from around the globe and India will be a key contributor to building the quantum economy. This strategic collaboration aims to provide high-quality, hands-on quantum computing education to hundreds of thousands of university engineering students and recognizes Tamil Nadu as a leader in the burgeoning quantum technology industry.
Black Opal makes quantum computing accessible to all – from students to software engineers, and developers to executives – through an interactive and visual online platform in which browser extensions can provide immediate language translation. Black Opal is designed to equip all learners for the quantum era with everything they need to join the quantum industry, which is expected to become a trillion-dollar sector over the next decade, according to McKinsey.
“Naan Mudhalvan is a government flagship program with a vision to upskill the youth of Tamil Nadu as we march into a trillion-dollar economy. Our partnership with Q-CTRL to roll out state-of-the-art quantum computing education in Tamil Nadu fuels our synergy with the industry, aiding in creating the talent pool that will feed into the industry and ramp up investment in the state,” said Tmt J. Innocent Divya, I.A.S., Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation.
Aravind Ratnam, Chief Strategy Officer, Q-CTRL. “Q-CTRL is proud to be making history in India through our partnership with Tamil Nadu which has become the first state in the world to roll out quantum computing education to all technical degree programs.
“Through our award-winning education platform, hundreds of thousands of students within TN will be upskilled over the next few semesters. Together we are creating the next generation of developers across the world.”
Q-CTRL has brought on Quantum AI Global as a service provider to roll out this account and proliferate quantum technology to make India competitive in the global quantum workforce.
Sanjay Chittore, Founder & CEO, Quantum AI Global, said: “We are excited to partner with Q-CTRL to execute the pioneering project with the state of Tamil Nadu. This partnership will serve as a blueprint for other regions and highlights our shared commitment to cultivate a diverse, inclusive and accessible quantum education program.”
The Black Opal platform features interactive learning modules, open-world practice areas, shareable skill badges and completion certificates for learners.
Black Opal provides all relevant material for an introductory quantum computing course in a single software platform, covering everything from basic quantum principles through to the specialized programming techniques used in quantum computing, all through a visual interface. The platform also empowers students to master both theoretical and practical quantum computing skills through simulated hackathon activities.
Instructors can tailor their students’ learning journeys on Black Opal through the Content Assignment feature, allowing for course customization, cohort management and progress monitoring. This enables educators to align the curriculum with specific learning outcomes, create tailored assignments and monitor student success through detailed analytics. Instructors can use Black Opal’s interactive content to build an unlimited number of assignments, which can be easily configured and tracked using visual dashboards and supported by exportable analytics, enabling educators to enhance student performance.
Building on Q-CTRL’s existing educational partnerships, this collaboration reflects the shared priority of advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the quantum technology ecosystem.
Coupled with Q-CTRL’s initial partnership with the Quad Investors Network (QUIN), this new partnership with Tamil Nadu demonstrates Q-CTRL’s commitment to bringing accessible quantum education to Quad countries (Australia, India, Japan and the US).
