SRM Qkrishi Quantum Centre of Excellence to Focus on Teaching and Research to help India Lead in Quantum

SRM and Qkrishi will enable the industry to work jointly with faculty, students, and researchers to get hands-on with quantum computing to solve tough industry problems.

Chennai: Qkrishi Quantum Private Limited and SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) have partnered to set up the SRMIST Qkrishi Centre of Excellence in Quantum Information and Computing (SQ-QuIC). SQ-QuIC was officially inaugurated on September 9 by Dr. C. Muthumizhchelvan, Vice Chancellor, SRMIST. This First of a Kind centre of excellence in a private university in India will bring together SRM faculty, research students, and Qkrishi scientists to work on cutting-edge quantum algorithms and applications research. The interdisciplinary team comprising of faculty from Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Management, and Engineering will focus on research in areas such as Finance, Drug Discovery, Logistics Optimisation, Automobile, and Machine Learning. SQ-QuIC has the mission to invent and develop new technology to reshape whole industries to help India take leadership in the quantum era. SRMIST and Qkrishi will work together with the industry to identify and solve the tough problems. Many industry problems have a high degree of computational complexity and are slow to converge even on the fastest supercomputers. Quantum computing brings a lot of opportunities to solve these tough problems to help humanity move forward in a sustainable way.

The partnership between SRMIST and Qkrishi will also enable students to work on cutting-edge quantum technologies that will help prepare them for the quantum era. Being one of the first such labs in the world, students of SRMIST will get an opportunity to work in one of the most advanced technology areas of today. Experts have called out Quantum Computing as one of the most sought-after skills along with AI/ML, VR, and Cloud.

Dr. C. Muthamizhchelvan, Vice Chancellor, SRMIST said, “Through this partnership between SRM and Qkrishi we will accelerate teaching, research, and technology development in quantum computing.  SRM has always led from the front with a flexible and dynamic curriculum, exciting research, and strategic partnerships to provide the best learning opportunities for students. Now along with Qkrishi we want to be one of the first institutions in the world to bring quantum skilling, research, and technology development opportunities to faculty, students, and industry collaborators.

“SQ-QuIC at SRMIST Campus will help in creating a flourishing ecosystem involving faculty, students, and external industry collaborators who can focus on solving some of the toughest challenges facing India and the world,” said Smt. Prabha Narayan, co-founder at Qkrishi.

Shri Raghavendra V, Head of Research at Qkrishi said, “Quantum represents a new computing paradigm. The industry needs to get ready for the future of computing. Qkrishi and SRM will work to radically reshape how industry in finance, medicine, and logistics work by driving innovations using quantum computing.”

About Qkrishi: Qkrishi, founded in 2021, focuses on quantum research, technology, and skilling. Qkrishi is working with industry and academic partners on use cases of relevance to industries including finance and medicine. Qkrishi has a team of experienced researchers with advanced degrees in quantum computing. The Qkrishi team is constantly innovating to create the intellectual property of value to industry clients.

About SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST): SRMIST which started as an engineering college in 1985, is today, one of the top ranking universities in India with over 52,000 full-time students and more than 3200 faculty across all the campuses – Kattankulathur, Ramapuram, Vadapalani Campus – all in and around Chennai, and Modinagar, NCR, Delhi – offering a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in six Faculties – Engineering & Technology, Management, Medicine & Health Sciences, Science & Humanities, Law and Agricultural Sciences. SRMIST faculty and students are actively involved in research, as the university encourages researchers associated with various disciplines to contribute in their field of expertise through publications, patents, and other valuable contributions to society. Thrust is given by SRMIST, for researchers to collaborate with industry to convert their ideas and findings into products that will be useful to society.