QOLLAB | IONQ — Global quantum hackathon

Quantum's biggest
build weekend. Coming this October.

Qollab, IonQ and partners are organizing the largest distributed, global quantum hackathon.

Join builders of all backgrounds on October 9th on a 48 hour race to develop open-source quantum projects worth forking for.

Register nowGet notifiedRegistration closedExplore the prizes

Registration opens Sept 28, 11:00 ET

Registration closes Oct 8, 11:00 ET

Build starts Oct 9, 19:00 ET

|0⟩────────┤ H ├──────────────────●──────────────────────┤ M ├════════⟨win||0⟩───┤ H ├──────●──────┤ M ├═══⟨win| |team⟩────────⊕──────────────────────────────────────── |team⟩───⊕───────────────────
registerbuild 48hsubmit · win

>>> qc.h(you); qc.cx(you, team) # start in superposition · build entangled

Registration opens in

Build starts in

Build starts in

Submissions close in

00:00:00:00

days · hours · min · sec

registration opens 11:00 ETbuild starts 19:00 ETglobal winners announced
  • Sept 28Registration opens 11:00 ET
  • Oct 08Registration closes 11:00 ET
  • Oct 09Build starts 19:00 ET
  • Oct 11Submissions close 19:00 ET
  • Week of Oct 19Global winners announced
TODAY ⟩──────┤ Sept 28 ├─────── Oct 08 ├────── Oct 09 ├────── Oct 11 ├─ Wk of Oct 19⟩
registration closes 11:00 ETsubmissions close 19:00 ET

Real prizes
for real work.

Students and professionals compete for local and global cash prizes and quantum compute credits. They also compete for a chance at a paid Qollab Fellow role. Members of the global top three teams also receive structured mentorship with IonQ engineers and expedited IonQ interview access.

Global first place
full table on prizes

$10,000
+ $20,000 compute

Full prize tableSee judging criteria

Live at universities,
worldwide.

Every location runs the same 48 hours and the same rubric. Judging starts local — your submission is scored by a panel at your own node before the top projects go to the global panel.

24 nodes · 25 locations · 10 countries. Hover a node for its name, click it for details. Drag to spin, scroll to tilt.

~/hackathon $ nodes --all
Participating entities+
  • Aalto University
  • ACENET (Atlantic Canada)
  • Barcelona Supercomputing Center
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Centre for Quantum Computer Science
  • Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control
  • Dartmouth College
  • Florida International University
  • Georgia Tech
  • I-HUB Quantum Technology Foundation
  • IIIT Dharwad
  • INESC TEC
  • Institut de Ciències del Cosmos
  • Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional
  • Institut quantique, Université de Sherbrooke
  • LabSET (UNICEN)
  • LATAM Quantum Node - Chapter Córdoba
  • Mines Society of Quantum Engineers
  • MPC node (Minho, Porto, Coimbra)
  • NYU Tandon School of Engineering
  • Q-STAR (FIU)
  • Quantum Computing Association
  • Quantum Computing Student Association
  • RIFT
  • SJSU Society of Quantum Engineers
  • Slovakia / QUTE.sk
  • The Catholic University of America
  • UCLA
  • UNICEN (Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires)
  • Universidad del Valle-QuanTIC
  • Universidad EAFIT
  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia
  • University of Barcelona
  • University of Coimbra
  • University of Latvia
  • University of Porto
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Waterloo
~/hackathon $ faq
Who can join?+

Students at a participating university, and professionals based in any of the eligible countries. A team can include both.

Do I need quantum experience?+

No experience is required to participate. That said, having some experience coding in Python will come in handy.

What are the three themes?

Quantum Impact. Take on a real challenge in logistics, manufacturing, space, finance, energy or another industry with a hybrid quantum-classical approach: pick a public dataset, build a strong classical baseline, then show where a quantum subroutine makes a measurable difference.

Quantum Playground. Turn quantum mechanics into a creative medium: a game, music, art, an interactive experience, or something we haven't imagined. The bar is that superposition, interference, entanglement or measurement is essential to the piece, beyond simply generating randomness.

Quantum Unlocked. Pick a hard, timely topic such as error correction, fault tolerance, quantum networking or algorithms, and teach it: an interactive demo, animation, visualisation or GUI that makes it intuitive.

A project that fits none of them is still eligible for placement and local awards, just not for a theme specialty award. Full descriptions are in the Rules & terms.

Can I compete in a team?+

You can compete solo or on teams up to 4.

Any age requirements?+

You have to be 18+.

Which countries are eligible?+

This event is only open to participants based in any of the following countries:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Barbados
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Malta
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Not seeing yours? Email hello@qollab.xyz before registration closes on Oct 8 and we'll tell you whether you can take part.

Do I need to be enrolled in a university to participate?+

No, you don't.

  • If you are a professional who is not enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate program at a participating university, we ask you to associate your application with a participating university — this routes your application to a local judging committee and makes your entry potentially eligible for local awards.
  • Same thing applies if you are enrolled at a non-participating university. You can have a student association contact us at hello@qollab.xyz if you want to participate in future events.
  • If you are enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate program at a participating university, we ask you to associate your application with your university — this may enable you to participate in students-only events and awards your university organizes.
What happens to the data I share?+

We use your email and registration details only to run the hackathon and operate Qollab. We don't sell, trade, or rent personal information for marketing purposes without your consent, and you can unsubscribe from updates at any time. Full detail is in the Qollab Privacy Policy.

More answers in How it works & prizes — the fine print lives in Rules & terms.

← QollabHow it worksFAQMentorsRules & termsPrivacyGet notifiedRegister nowhello@qollab.xyzReport a problem
48H · OCT 09–11 ET · EVERYWHEREIN PARTNERSHIP WITH IONQ
~/hackathon $ notify