LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As we come to the end of another year of the UK National Quantum Technology Programme, I am writing to thank you all for your ongoing support of QuantIC.

Like many people at this time of year, I have been reflecting on the last 12 months and thinking about the ways in which we have all had to adjust to working and socialising with our colleagues, family and friends. The way we engage with each other has drastically changed but we have seen great resilience in our research teams.

Throughout all the reviews we have conducted during the year, our advisors have remarked on how much progress we have made despite the impact of COVID-19. We celebrated that progress through the exhibits we took to Photonex in Glasgow and the National Quantum Technologies Showcase in London. Thank you to everyone for their efforts towards QuantIC in general, and to making our presence felt at these events.

At the start of the month, I had the pleasure of meeting up with the whole of the central team for the first time since March 2019. The occasion: my retirement. It’s been a privilege and a great pleasure to have worked with you all, but after seven years of leading QuantIC as Director the time has come to pass the baton on to my successor. Sara Deigoli, our present Associate Director will take over in January.

Sara’s leadership will bring renewed energy at a time when the Hub is preparing for mid-term reviews and looking at what lies beyond the current funding cycle. I hope you will join me in supporting Sara and wishing her every success.

Despite the turbulence of both the political and social climate, QuantIC has had another successful year:

  • Innovate UK announced two large Collaborative R&D awards led by industry involving QuantIC technology.
  • COP26 raised the profile of quantum technology solutions for climate change and brought with it new opportunities for industrial collaboration.
  • We were thankful for another year of awards and accolades right across the programme emphasising the world-class calibre of our researchers
  • We issued 5 awards from our Partnership Resource Fund and welcomed a pipeline of new talent to the team with 5 new industrial studentships.

Looking forward to the year ahead we are excited to be getting out into the wider global community with planned events in the USA and Europe, striving to present Quantic and the UK National Programme as a focus for global excellence in quantum imaging and quantum technologies.

This vision will only be achieved through strong collaboration and partnerships, and I would like to take a moment to thank you for your own personal contribution to QuantIC and the wider National Programme.

On behalf of all the QuantIC team, may I wish you joy and happiness over the festive season, and I look forward to seeing how QuantIC moves into a new era in 2022.

With best wishes,

 Professor Steve Beaumont, (soon to be retired) Director

First published: 16 December 2021

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