2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology kicks off

Government officials, Nobel Laureates, academic leaders and executives from across the globe gathered with interested citizens to attend the opening ceremony at the UNESCO headquarters.

On 4 February, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) was officially launched from the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.

The two-day opening ceremony featured speakers including CQT’s Alexander Ling. It is one of many events planned through 2025 to support the global initiative’s goals of raising public awareness of the importance and impact of quantum science and its applications on all aspects of life.

The year 2025 was chosen for being the 100th anniversary of the first paper describing the framework of modern quantum mechanics.

Singapore’s National Quantum Office (NQO), which has become an official IYQ partner, has launched a local calendar for the year. NQO's IYQ webpage collates quantum events in Singapore for the public, schools, business and scientists.

IYQ in SG

CQT’s Jenny Hogan chairs a workgroup making IYQ plans in Singapore. The group includes representatives from NQO, universities, start-ups and research associations.

“Singapore has a vibrant community of quantum researchers and professionals who are excited about quantum every day. The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in 2025 is a wonderful opportunity to bring this expertise and enthusiasm into interactions with wider audiences,” she says.

Jenny is CQT’s Associate Director for Outreach and Media Relations, based in the Centre’s node at the National University of Singapore (NUS). CQT and the Institute of Physics Singapore were endorsing organisations for the IYQ proposal.

Forthcoming events in the Singapore calendar include the creative Quantum Shorts: Encore film screening at ArtScience Museum from 7 February, a Quantum Industry Day on 14 March organised by NQO, camps for pre-university students in June, public talks on the history of quantum science and monthly hands-on demo days at Science Centre Singapore.

Quantum is also expected in the programme of major international conferences in Singapore that have business, government and scientific audiences. Up first is SupercomputingAsia, running 10 to 13 March and featuring a track on hybrid quantum classical computing.

Global efforts

A global calendar of events happening during IYQ is hosted on the initiative’s website at quantum2025.org. 

At the opening ceremony, Alexander was among politicians, Nobel laureates and other quantum researchers from around the world to take the stage. He spoke in a panel “Voices from the Industry: The Challenge of Developing Quantum at Scale”, chaired by Dr Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), alongside representatives from IBM, Microsoft, Quantinuum, ID Quantique and QuEra. A livestream of the event is available to watch on YouTube.

As well as being a Principal Investigator at CQT and Professor in the NUS Department of Physics, Alexander is co-founder of the spin-offs S-Fifteen and SpeQtral. He voices a personal hope that IYQ can strengthen the spirit of international collaboration that is strained by geopolitics.

“My wish for 2025, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, is that we recall that the scientific foundations were developed in an atmosphere of open collaboration. We should not rush to restrict access to the technology. Humanity can benefit when the good outcomes are shared widely," he says.

CQT Principal Investiator Alexander Ling (on screen and second from right) was a panellist at the IYQ opening ceremony.