Industry partners

The QIST CDT has an extensive network of world-class industrial partners who dramatically enhance the training and student experience by providing knowledge, skills and opportunities well beyond that typically available in a PhD programme.

There are many benefits of becoming a partner of the CDT, and we offer a number of different mechanisms to engage with our programme. Examples of these include:

Sponsoring or co-sponsoring a QIST CDT PhD studentship

Sponsoring or co-sponsoring a PhD studentship and defining the nature of the project is a cost-effective way for companies to drive forward research tailored to their challenges. By sponsoring a studentship, you’ll be contributing to the sustainability of the quantum skills ecosystem, and work with a student who will benefit from the enhanced skills training offered by the CDT.

Companies will begin working with their sponsored student within the first year of the CDT through a 6 month research project, and then work even closer once the student progresses to their full 3-year research phase. Though the most common model is a 50% co-sponsor, we are happy to work with our industrial partners to develop a bespoke arrangement that satisfies a companies IP requirements and the students ability to submit a thesis.

Previous PhD sponsors include: Thales ∙ Dstl ∙ Phasecraft ∙ Universal Quantum

Hosting an internship

The CDT provides funding for our students to undertake 3-month internships with industrial companies in the latter stages of their PhD.

These internships provide an invaluable experience for our students, and are of great benefit to hosting companies due to the level of experience our students have by this point. Internships have also acted as an excellent opportunity for future recruitment.

We are happy to discuss longer internship options if preferred.

Previous internship hosts include: PsiQuantum ∙ Duality ∙ Quantinuum ∙ Phasecraft ∙ Riverlane ∙ Quandela

Collaborative short-projects

Our 1st year PhD candidates undertake two 12-week projects alongside their taught course and we encourage our industrial partners to use these as a mechanism to undertake exploratory work. Calls for three-month project proposals are made in December and May each year, with work commencing in February and June respectively.

These short-projects are an ideal entry route for engaging with the CDT, and can form the basis of a sponsored PhD studentship in the future.

Collaborating with Bristol’s and Sussex’s unique quantum ecosystem as a QIST CDT industry partner

By becoming an industrial partner of the QIST CDT, companies will become part of the unique quantum ecosystem at the University of Bristol and the University of Bristol where there are many opportunities for collaborative R&D.

At Bristol, the QIST CDT itself sits within Bristol’s Quantum Information Institute which boasts a current research community of over 100 researchers across the Schools of Physics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Mathematics, and contributes to 3 out of the 4 Quantum Technology Hubs.

Bristol also hosts the internationally unique entrepreneurship training program for quantum technology, QTEC, and created the UK’s first quantum technology incubator, QTIC.

At Sussex, the QIST CDT sits within the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies. Sussex hosts nine individual research groups all working on the development of practical quantum technologies. Sussex quantum technology research groups cover a very wide spectrum in the development of quantum technologies, with many ground-breaking achievements stemming from the work at Sussex. Leading an international consortium including Google, Aarhus University, Riken and Siegen University, Sussex researchers created the first nuts and bolts construction plan to build a practical quantum computer. Sussex researchers pioneered the first strong interaction between an ion and a photon and theoretical research from the centre has given rise to an experiment that has been taken up by the International Space Station. From building practical quantum computers, constructing a quantum internet, realizing a quantum radar to detecting brain activity via quantum sensors, Sussex is a critical mass concentration for the development of the wide range of quantum technologies with highly disruptive industry applications.

To explore these, or any other queries relating to industry engagement with our CDT, please contact our Industry Engagement Manager: robert.hicks@bristol.ac.uk

Case study: CDT collaborations with Industry

Our students come to us from a wide range of disciplines and they go on to secure various different roles within the scientific community. Here is an example of our successful collaborations between a CDT student and an Industry partner:

Lewis Wooltorton

I had two main motivations for undertaking an internship. Firstly, I saw it as a great opportunity to diversify my technical skill set, and start research in a new topic without having to balance my PhD work on the side. Secondly, I was undecided at the time whether I would like to stay in academia after my PhD, or move to industry. The concrete activities actually taking place in a “quantum company” were a bit mysterious to me, so I thought the best way to make an informed decision about my post-PhD plan is to apply for an internship and find out.

During my six months at Quantinuum, I was fortunate to work with the quantum cryptography team, focusing on the practical building blocks of quantum based protocols. I completed my internship both in person, joining the offices in London and occasionally visiting Cambridge, as well as online. I found the research culture at Quantinuum very encouraging with a heathy work-life balance, great team dynamics as well as plenty of fun social activities. Undertaking an internship has diversified my skill set as I had hoped; I was able to cover the literature and work on an open problem, and an output will be a paper on the work completed during my time. Moreover, I have been able to continue collaborating with the group after my internship finished. I was also able to develop an insight into bigger picture/product related research, which I would not have experienced otherwise.

This internship has definitely improved my opportunities, and given me an additional set of experiences to draw from when writing applications to jobs (including post-docs) after my PhD, as well as a better understanding of the broader research picture when considering my future research direction. The biggest opportunity I was given is to continue collaborating with the group and friends I made, and work on new interesting problems which I plan to take forward beyond my PhD.

I would encourage any CDT student to consider an internship too; feel free to reach out if you’d like to know more about what it’s like! Many thanks go to the CDT for their support in setting up the internship and making such an opportunity possible.

Our existing partners

Our industry partners cover a broad range of quantum technologies and play different roles in enhancing the training offered at the QIST CDT. They include: