IPFN and IT launch QIQO Lab
The official kick-off ceremony of QIQO – Quantum Information & Quantum Optics hub – took place on Tuesday, 16 July, at Instituto Superior Técnico’s Alameda campus, marking the launch of a joint initiative by IPFN and Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) to establish a dedicated centre for research and training in quantum technologies.
The hub integrates two of Técnico’s most advanced labs – the Quantum Matter Lab (QuMatt@GoLP/IPFN) and the Quantum Photonics Lab (QuLab@IT) – and is anchored in more than €1.25 million in infrastructure, with expansion plans already underway.
The collaboration protocol was signed by Bruno Gonçalves (IPFN) and Paulo André (IT Board Member), in the presence of IST President Rogério Colaço.
QIQO will be co-led by Hugo Terças (GoLP/IPFN) and Emmanuel Zambrini Cruzeiro (IT), whose respective areas of expertise underpin a cohesive approach bridging theoretical and experimental quantum science.
Governance is supported by a steering board comprising Paulo André, Bruno Gonçalves and Luís Oliveira e Silva, ensuring strategic alignment across the participating institutions.
The scientific agenda of QIQO spans several high-priority research axes. These include the study of fundamental physics with cold atoms, the g-MOT; Room-temperature optical quantum memories; Long distance optical quantum communication; and optical quantum communication system design.
According to Bruno Gonçalves, IPFN’s President, “With the QIQO Lab, Técnico now hosts the first large-scale experimental laboratory fully dedicated to quantum science in Portugal – aligned with Técnico’s strategic priorities in emerging technologies.
Bruno emphasised the Lab’s educational role, saying that “QIQO was created with a clear training mission, to ensure that the next generations of Portuguese engineers, physicists and scientists not only master this new language of nature but are equipped to lead.”
In collaboration with Técnico’s Department of Physics (DF) and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC), QIQO Lab will offer new graduate-level courses on topics such as quantum optics and gases, computation and information theory, metrology and sensing, as well as plasmonics and machine learning in quantum systems.
The launch event featured institutional addresses and participation from several industry stakeholders, including representatives from Deimos, Capgemini and Deloitte. Attendees were invited to tour the laboratory facilities and learn more about the lab’s research directions and collaborative opportunities.
