Scholarships for master’s students in quantum science
The Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology IQST supports talented Master’s students from the universities involved in IQST with a scholarship during their Master’s thesis. All students who will be writing a Master’s thesis in the working group of an IQST Fellow on a topic from the quantum sciences can apply.
The scholarship will be granted for a maximum of 12 months at the maximum BAföG rate applicable at the time of approval.
Please send your application (CV, ½‑page letter of motivation, Abitur certificate, Bachelor’s certificate and transcript of records) as single pdf-document to office@iqst.org by May15th, 2025.
We expressly encourage students from underrepresented groups (e.g. women, teacher training students, students from abroad) to apply.
The scholarship is awarded by the University of Stuttgart.
In your letter of motivation, please emphasize what fascinates you about quantum science in general and your Master’s topic in particular and why you are suitable for the scholarship. Applications that are not submitted in due time and form will not be considered in the selection process. We expressly encourage students from underrepresented groups (e.g. women, teacher training students, students from abroad) to apply.
The award guidelines of the University of Stuttgart from June 21, 2024 apply.
IQST is inviting applications for its Postdoctoral Fellowships. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary research environment at IQST.
We encourage applications that are focused on collaborative and cross-disciplinary research including collaboration with several IQST groups. The programme is focused on attracting applicants from places other than the IQST Fellows institutions.
The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology is an excellent occasion to communicate general physics concepts and latest quantum technology applications to a broader audience. Therefore, IQST gladly supports the project “Kunst und Quanten: Quantum2025 in Kunstmuseen”, which was established at the University of Stuttgart to foster the connections between quantum science and art. In particular, this project initiates various events in art museums in Baden-Württemberg and beyond that will specifically address the general audience and that will explain “quantum” in the context of art.
The kick-off for “Kunst und Quanten” will take place in early April, and IQST supports a “quantum and art”-related scientific symposium and a public evening talk at University of Stuttgart.
We invite you to join this evening talk:
April 3rd, 19:00, Campus Stuttgart-Vaihingen, lecture hall V47.02
Prof. Dr. Franz J. Gießibl (University of Regensburg): “Die Unschärfe der Bildermacher und die Quantenmechanik” (talk will be in German)
Starting at 18:00, posters related to “quantum and art”, including IQST, will be presented in front of the lecture hall.
We are happy to announce the upcoming IQST Day 2025, which will take place on February 12, 2025 at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research.
We are looking forward to insightful talks as well as vivid discussions during the poster sessions.
The schedule for IQST Day 2025 can be found below:
- Begin at 09:30 - Session 1: 09:30 — 09:45: Welcome
Bettina Lotsch (MPI-FKF)
IQST directors: Stefanie Barz, Fedor Jelezko
Peter Middendorf, Rector University of Stuttgart
Oliver Kraft, Vice President KIT
Joachim Ankerhold, Vice President Uni Ulm
Session 2: IQST and BW — chair: Sebastian Loth
11:30 — 11:50: Markus Oberthaler (Heidelberg) — Quantum Field Simulators – from Cosmology to
Supersolidity
11:50 — 12:10: Anja Metelmann (KIT) — Nonlinearity as a resource – or a tale of sharks and cats
12:10 — 12:30: Kai Bongs (Ulm, DLR) — Quantum Technologies in Space
12:30 — 12:50: Rüdiger Quay (Freiburg) — Materials and Devices for Quantum Sensing and Quantum
Computing
- 12:50 — 14:15: Lunch Break & Posters -
Session 3 — chair: Fedor Jelezko
14:15 — 15:10: Keynote Talk: Alex Retzker (Hebrew University) — Erasure detection with superconducting qubits
15:10 — 15:30: Laetitia Farinacci (Stuttgart) — Insights into magnetic bound states in superconductors
15:30 — 15:50: Stephan Welte (Stuttgart) — A multi-qubit quantum network node for quantum communication and computation
15:50 — 16:15: Coffee Break
Session 4: Chemistry and Materials at IQST — chair: Anke Krueger
16:15 — 16:35: Simon Krause (MPI-FKF/Ulm) — From Molecule to Material — Functional molecular
frameworks as soft porous crystals and quantum platforms
16:35 — 16:55: Anna Roslawska (MPI-FKF) — Optics with sub-nm precision
16:55 — 17:15: Lorenzo Tesi (Stuttgart) — Molecular Spin Qubits: Harnessing Chemistry Versatility for Quantum Technologies
17:15 — 17:35: Peter Roesky (KIT) — Magnetic Sandwich Compounds
Two IQST Fellows among the 2025 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Laureates
Congratulations to IQST Fellows Prof. Bettina Lotsch (Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany) and Prof. Wolfram Pernice (Universität Heidelberg) on being awarded Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prizes for their outstanding achievements in the fields of solid state and materials chemistry, and experimental physics, respectively.
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) — German Research Foundation was established in 1985 and is the most prestigious research award in Germany. The Leibniz Programme honours outstanding scientists and academics, extends their research opportunities and helps them to recruit highly qualified young researchers. Up to ten prizes are awarded each year, with a maximum of €2.5 million per award.
Scientific Coordinator for the Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST)
We are looking for a new colleague to support the initiation and implementation of IQST coordinated projects, carry out and control IQST programmes as well as represent the IQST at international conferences, workshops and trade fairs.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology joins IQST as a new partner.
We are delighted to announce the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) as a new partner of the IQST.
The mission of IQST is to further our understanding of nature and develop innovative technologies based on quantum science by leveraging synergies between the natural sciences, engineering, and life sciences. “Many KIT scientists already successfully support IQST with their expertise as Fellows. All the more I am pleased that the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is now joining our interdisciplinary centre as an institution”, says IQST Director Prof. Stefanie Barz. “This will strengthen networking within the academic quantum community in Baden-Württemberg,” emphasizes Barz, an expert in quantum information and quantum technology from the Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies (FMQ) at the University of Stuttgart.
IQST scientists collaborate on innovative research in quantum science and explore applications that will benefit society. “Although quantum technologies still require significant basic research, the focus on applications is becoming increasingly important,” explains physicist Prof. Fedor Jelezko, IQST Director and Head of the Institute of Quantum Optics at the University of Ulm. “KIT joining IQST decisively strengthens this centre of excellence in quantum science in Baden-Württemberg,” Jelezko continues. Among other things, quantum technologies will make sensors for manufacturing and medical technology more precise and efficient, ensure secure communication channels, and enhance high-performance computing. Promising areas of application are already emerging, particularly in sensor technology and communications.
“By joining the network, KIT scientists will become part of an established research network in quantum technologies in Baden-Württemberg,” explains chemist Prof. Mario Ruben from the Institute of Quantum Materials and Technologies (IQMT) at KIT. KIT’s profile in the field of quantum technologies, in particular with its focus on molecular and superconducting quantum bits, fits in very well with the activities developed by IQST over the last ten years.
For the past ten years, the IQST has been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research in quantum science and technology, with an ever-expanding focus on potential applications and their benefits for society. We are all the more delighted that KIT, a further supra-regional institution has now joined the IQST — marking an important step towards a statewide network for the scientific quantum community in Baden-Württemberg.
Graduate School Manager (f/m/d) of the Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST)
We are looking for a new colleague to manage the graduate school of the IQST, to coordinate the communication with funding organisations, to organise, plan and implement events, workshops and outreach activities as well as support the hiring and onboarding of graduate students.
Head (m/f/d) administration and financial controlling
We are looking for a new colleague to manage the finances of the IQST — Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology as well as administrative matters, to coordinate the communication with IQST Fellows, the IQST community and external shareholders, and to organise, plan and implement events, workshops and conferences.
For more information, please see the advertisement below. We look forward to receiving your application.
This week, IQST participated in the second edition of the Quantum Effects exhibition and conference in Stuttgart — a platform for visitors from diverse backgrounds to discover and explore application-oriented quantum technologies.
IQST was present at the joint stand of QuantumBW, an innovation initiative that pools quantum technology expertise across Baden-Württemberg. Several IQST Fellows and researchers from their groups presented activities within the IQST network. They brought with them a wide range of demonstrators — from goggles for virtual-reality lab tours to a micrometre-scale representation of a Kandinsky painting. These tools helped to make quantum concepts more concrete, tangible and understandable, thereby providing bridges to applications such as quantum computing and quantum sensing.
These efforts have been well rewarded. We were delighted by the great interest and positive feedback we have received. The Minister for Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, Petra Olschowski, visited us, as did other high-ranking delegations and several school groups of different ages. We immensely enjoyed the discussions with our visitors and the opportunity to share our passion for ‘all things quantum’.
We are grateful to the Quantum Effects organisers for creating this unique platform to showcase the rapid progress in quantum technologies to such a wide range of interested people, from children to industry leaders and policy makers.
We would also like to thank everyone within IQST who helped at the fair or behind the scenes. The driving force was our Director Stefanie Barz, working closely with Christine Heuschmid and Nicole Metzler in the IQST office. Helping to set up and organise the event were PhD representatives Miriam Resch, Lukas Rückle and Mirko Rossini, together with early-stage researchers from across the IQST family who helped with operations and demonstrations.
