OQI Hackathon
in a Box

OQI Hackathon in a Box is a practical guide to plan and resource hackathons in quantum underserved regions. It has been curated by OQI’s education consortium on the occasion of the 2025 UN Year of Quantum of Science and Technology. Aiming to mitigate the quantum digital divide, the toolkit combines resources on cutting-edge theoretical knowledge with practical methods to learn how to develop quantum computing applications focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Mission

Q

Quantum
for the SDGs

Holding a quantathon contributes to the development of quantum computing applications toward the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

P

Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Access

We’re on a mission of global capacity building through regionally relevant quantathons that help providing equitable and inclusive access to quantum computing education and a wide community of alumni, collaborators and sponsors.

E

Elevating
Capacity

Inspired by the NYUAD Hackathon for Social Good and building on the experience of OQI’s global and multi-stakeholder community

G

Global
Community

Quantathons are truly global initiatives that bring experts and students together, narrow the gaps between countries with varying quantum access and spread the ability to harness the potential of a disruptive technology.

G

Acknowledgments

“Hackathon in a Box” builds on years of experience of OQI education consortium members. It is a technology and brand agnostic toolkit that has been vetted by the most respected quantum science and technology leaders.

Our special thanks to NYUAD Prof Sana Odeh and GESDA who provided core resources and to the key reviewers.

"The hackathon’s unique focus on social good allowed my team to develop a timely and meaningful solution for disadvantaged communities. So transformative!"
Nerrise Favour Njunkeng | PhD Candidate | Stanford University.
"The NYUAD hackathon was an excellent experience that not only shaped my perspective but also strengthened my resolve to apply my skills toward impactful solutions."
Galane Basha Namomsa | Research Associate | Carnegie Mellon University Africa
"The OQI supported hackathon in at NYUAD has deeply impacted my way of approaching a problem and boosted my confidence by providing me with a global platform."
Mehak Layal | Doctoral Fellow | Raman Research Institute (RRI) Bangalore
"Contributing to the NYUAD Hackathon supported by OQI was an invaluable experience. Our team developed QGasBusters, leveraging quantum sensing and QML to prevent disasters and save lives."
Alberto Macrhisio | Post-Doctoral Associate | NYUAD
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How it works?

Plan

This section of our guide helps you prepare for the event, your hackathon. It sets out key elements that turn your hackathon in a quantathon.

Launch

This section of the guide helps you know what to do during a successful quantathon. Understand what it takes to launch it, based on the QPEG mission.

Follow Up

This section has helpful suggestions on building impact within your hackathon community and explains how to contribute to the wider quantathon community.

Quantathon Guide

Download here the full quantathon guide to plan, launch and follow-up on your quantum for the SDGs hackathon. This is a step-by-step manual for pulling it off.

Resources Archive

Download here source files, templates, and other helpful material for a successful hackathon. Discover the contributions of partners to turn your hackathon into a quantathon.

Learning

Our Hackathon in a Box has been designed to be resource-efficient and optimize organizational tasks. Still, delivering a qualitative hackathon requires dedication and commitment. We estimate a minimum of FTEs over XXX months for planning and a team of XX for running of the event itself.  The free open source resources below will help you save time and streamline your budget. 

Our Sponsors

Partnering with an Open Quantum Institute offers a unique opportunity to accelerate growth in the quantum computing industry. Together, we’ll pioneer advancements and unlock the full potential of quantum computing.

Past & Future


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Community

Organizers can count on active inputs, guidance and practical help of OQI Hackathon in a Box vibrant community composed of trusted members of the greater OQI community. This community can be joined by invitation only.

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Join the Future of Quantum Computing!

Learn about engagement opportunities

OQI Partners are institutions that benefit from peer recognition for their scientific contributions or impact expertise.

Requirements:

  1. Either have served as OQI’s spearheading partners during its incubation phase or have consistently engaged resources to OQI’s work as OQI members for at least a year
  2. Commit to co-shape the OQI’s unique value propositions for the three years of the pilot throughout the 4A’s​
  3. Are vetted by the OQI Advisory Committee
  4. Abide to OQI’s values and openness principles

OQI Members are institutions that benefit from peer recognition for their scientific contributions or their impact expertise.

Requirements:

  1. Have disclosed their governance structure
  2. Commit to actively contribute on at least one of the 4A’s assiduously for at least one year​
  3. Have appointed at least one expert from their institution as focal point of contact for OQI and contributor to its working groups
  4. Abide to OQI’s values
  5. Have submitted a complete membership form with supporting documentation and are vetted by the OQI Management Team
  6. Qualify for partner level after having demonstrated their commitment for at least one year​

OQI Friends are individuals (such as experts from the private or public sector, countries, citizens) who are committed to open science, inclusivity and all values as set out in OQI’s charter and associate themselves with the OQI.

Friends socialise the OQI to their communities.

Downloadable PDF version of Charter

 

Description:

The Open Quantum Institute (OQI) is a multilateral governance initiative that promotes global and inclusive access to quantum computing and the development of applications for the benefit of humanity. As a novel science diplomacy instrument, it brings together research, diplomacy, private sector and philanthropy stakeholders. OQI is hosted by CERN during its pilot phase (2024-2026).

 

Mission:

Accelerating applications for humanity: Realising the full potential of quantum computing to have the widest possible societal impact by accelerating the development of use cases geared towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and succeeding framework , thanks to the combined forces of researchers, developers and entrepreneurs from academia and private sector as well as the United Nations, and large NGOs
Access for all: Providing global, inclusive and equitable access to a pool of public and private quantum computers and simulators available via the cloud
Advancing capacity building: Developing educational tools to enable everyone around the world to contribute to the development of quantum computing and make the most of the technology
Activating multilateral governance for the SDGs: Providing a neutral forum to help shape multilateral governance of quantum computing for the SDGs

 

Values:

Inclusivity, global scope
  • Enable people from all countries, regardless of whether they have any quantum computing capability of their own, to benefit from and to participate in the development of (i) quantum computing applications that address global challenges, in particular those that are closely related to their own specific challenges, and (ii) the multilateral governance of quantum computing for the SDGs
Openness
  • Share experiences, knowledge, and methods for the benefit of all, following Open Science best practice
  • Make openly available the results – outcomes of joint activities related to the OQI mission conducted by the OQI community – to society via open repositories and/or through the use of open licences
Focus on impact
  • Ensure that applications are developed for their quantum computing potential to tackle real-world problems that will benefit humanity
  • Consider and balance their ethical, legal, and societal implications
Independence
  • Enable everyone to participate free from individual, national, corporate or any other agendas
  • Develop applications with a technology neutral approach.
Collaboration
  • Foster a community of diverse expertise, backgrounds and geographies, enabled by international cooperation and diplomacy

 

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