Leveraging Open Source Tools to Teach Quantum Computing Foundations: Bridging the Future Workforce Gap in the Quantum Era

Abstract The post-quantum era presents both challenges and opportunities, notably a looming workforce gap in quantum computing education and skills. Recognizing this, both public and private stakeholders are making efforts in their focus on quantum education. For instance, IBM's recent pledge to upskill 30 million individuals by 2030 specifically emphasizes quantum computing and cryptography (1). Similarly, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the U.S. National Science Foundation, have engaged in quantum education discussions at a summit that brought together leading educators and professionals in Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) to strategize on future workforce development (2). Additionally, NIST is gearing up to unveil its post-quantum cryptography standard in the near future (3). Despite these efforts, collaboration across sectors in aligning quantum education approaches needs more focus. As experienced educators and researchers, our observation is that while cybersecurity education has witnessed extensive collaboration across government, industry, and academia, quantum education in some sectors is not receiving the attention as highlighted by government initiatives. We propose a systematic approach, leveraging established frameworks like NICE, to integrate quantum computing education into mainstream curricula to ensure that industry will not have the large gap of filling jobs as the cybersecurity sector is currently experiencing. This paper aims to: - Provide an overview of ongoing initiatives targeting quantum education gaps. - Discuss the necessity and strategies to incorporate introductory quantum computing modules into CS curricula. - Demonstrate modules currently used in the curriculum - Demonstrate how the TKS building blocks similar to the NICE framework can be utilized to chart effective learning pathways for students. - Offer strategic recommendations for future initiatives in quantum education. Furthermore, we will present an analysis of three courses introduced in our CS department: "Quantum Computing for All," "Introduction to Quantum Computing," and "Quantum Computing II." We outline the course modules specifically crafted to heighten students' quantum awareness and curiosity as they will be confronted with opportunities and issues related to quantum computing in their software engineering careers. Our student survey results, based on a Likert scale ranking, underline a substantial increase in students' quantum curiosity and aptitude, suggesting a positive trend in quantum education outcomes. References (1) IBM: (https://newsroom.ibm.com/2021-10-13-IBM-Commits-to-Skill-30-Million-People-Globally-by-2030) (2) QUIST: (https://qis-learners.research.illinois.edu/). NSF: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/02/01/white-house-office-of-science-technology-policy-and-u-s-national-science-foundation-host-quantum-workforce-q-12-actions-for-community-growth-event-release-quantum-workforce/ (3) NIST Post Quantum Cryptography: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography (4) Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework) https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-181r1.pdf