Interview with Safa - Internship in QUARKS

Hi Safa, can you tell us something about yourself?

I’m 17 years old and just finished 11th grade, and after the summer holidays I’ll begin my final year (12th grade) at the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Freiberg. I’m passionate about many areas of science, especially natural sciences and computer science. I enjoy exploring the intersection between technology and the natural world and I’m particularly interested in quantum computing and AI.

How did your passion for quantum computing come about?

It all started about one and a half years ago, while I was working on a Leonardo da Vinci project for school. I was sitting in front of my laptop, watching a YouTube video where an MIT professor tried to figure out whether a bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci could actually be built in real life. After he successfully demonstrated that it was possible, the video led me to another clip of the same professor this time talking about the future of technology.
In that video, he introduced the concept of quantum computers. I was instantly fascinated. I couldn’t believe that quantum mechanics with all its strange and beautiful processes like quantum teleportation could be translated into real technology. Since then, I’ve been deeply passionate about learning everything I can about quantum computing.

What are you doing during your internship in QUARKS?

My internship at QUARKS is five weeks long, and I’m currently in the second week. Until now, I mostly focused on learning theory at home, I studied on my own and completed online courses.
But since joining the internship, I’ve been learning how to translate that theoretical knowledge into real practice. I’ve started coding with Qiskit in Python and simulating quantum processes, which is really exciting. It’s the first time I get to apply what I’ve learned in a hands-on environment. In addition to that, I finally got to see not just one, but even three quantum computers in real life (seeing them was absolutely fascinating). I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks.

Any advice for other students interested in quantum computing?

Sure.
At first, I recommend you learn some easy theory basics of quantum mechanics, so that you can understand what you eventually want to translate into code.
And afterwards, you could look for an internship. Because with only theory knowledge, it’s hard to go further – that’s why I wanted to find this opportunity (QUARKS – Internship). It will teach you how to use your theory basics and implement them in real practice. Every day you will learn more and more interesting facts about quantum computing.

If you would also like to have a similar experience, discover our internship programme!