Why Sydney

Sydney is home to world-leading universities and one of the highest concentrations of quantum experts globally.

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George St Sydney Harbour Bridge

Primed for growth

With a thriving ecosystem and supportive innovation infrastructure, Sydney and the state of New South Wales are well placed to become a global hub for quantum talent and technology.

According to Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, commercialising quantum technologies could create an Australian industry worth $2.2 billion and 8,700 jobs by 2030. This could reach nearly $6 billion and 19,400 jobs by 2045. Australia has world-class quantum research capabilities and an emerging quantum technology industry underpinned by the expertise and IP developed in its research institutions. As a hub of innovation and as Australia’s largest economy, Sydney will drive much of this growth.

What makes Sydney an emerging leader in quantum?

  • Four world-leading universities

    Sydney’s world-class universities provide education offerings across all areas or quantum science and technology including in computation, sensing and communication, both in software and hardware development. 

  • World-class quantum technology research and expertise

    Sydney researchers have led and contributed to major quantum breakthroughs over the past few decades. Sydney Quantum Academy brings together over 100 experts to ensure collaboration and build on an impressive track record of innovation. 

  • Supportive innovation infrastructure

    Government support at the state and federal level is helping to provide the  infrastructure needed to develop NSW's and Australia's quantum economy.

World-leading universities

Sydney is the number one city in the Asia Pacific and ranks third globally for top 100 ranked universities. SQA’s partners, Macquarie University, UTS, UNSW Sydney and University of Sydney, all rank within the top 1% of universities in the world (QS rankings). They are also ranked among the Top 50 in several key areas related to quantum technology including Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Natural Sciences.

Across its leading universities, Sydney has the largest pool of STEM graduates in Australia. There are over 40,000 students enrolled annually in Science, Engineering and Information Technology degrees alone in our partner institutions.

SQA is working with our partners to ensure students learn and draw on the best each institution has to offer including quantum specialised units and courses, and research projects. All four universities also have strong reputations for work-integrated learning, incubating start-ups and accelerating entrepreneurialism.

students_studying_at laptops

Quantum research and expertise

SQA’s partner universities encompass world-class capabilities in quantum technology backed by impressive infrastructure. All four universities have been rated as either above or well above world standards in quantum physics by the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) report.

Our partners are deeply involved in developing quantum technology through the ARC Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) and the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology (CQC²T) harnessing academic talent from all four institutions.

  • Macquarie University

    Macquarie University hosts the Centre for Quantum Engineering (MQCQE) with eight core research groups designing second-generation quantum machines. This includes hardware for quantum simulators, quantum sensors and quantum computers, and quantum algorithms for these devices. The Quantum Materials and Applications (QMAPP) group runs three laboratories on campus and at CSIRO, focused on optomechanics and levitation, cavity electrodynamics, and solid-state quantum control. The centre maintains partnerships with Google and BTQ Technologies and is a node in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS).

    Macquarie University

  • UNSW Sydney

    UNSW Sydney undertakes world-leading research in quantum technologies in both its School of Physics and School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications. It hosts the headquarters of ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T). Researchers at UNSW are leading the world in the race to build quantum computers based on both single atoms and CMOS devices in silicon.  The University also hosts the headquarters of the NSW node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility which provides advanced nanofabrication capabilities needed for quantum device development.

    UNSW

  • University of Sydney

    The University of Sydney’s $150 million Nanoscience Hub houses the Quantum Control Laboratory, Quantum Integration Laboratory and Quantum Theory Group.  The Quantum Control Laboratory explores new ways to control quantum systems for use in quantum computing, simulation, and sensing. The Quantum Integration Laboratory probes the quantum interactions between light, electronics, and atoms embedded in crystals. Whereas the Quantum Theory Group explores a wide range of fundamental and applied questions ranging from the foundations of quantum mechanics to how to build practical quantum technology.  See here for more.

    University of Sydney

  • University of Technology, Sydney

    UTS is home to strategic research initiatives such as the UTS Centre for Quantum Software and Information (QSI). QSI is Australia’s leading research centre focussed on the software and information processing infrastructure for quantum technologies. Researchers and PhD students work with industrial and academic partners across the entire quantum software stack: from developing new methods to design and program quantum algorithms and applications; to perfecting the quantum control and error correction routines used by experimental teams such as those using UTS’ new  Millikelvin Quantum Science Laboratory. UTS also conducts quantum technology research through its nodes of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS), including the UTS research group ‘Quantum Materials and Devices’.

    UTS

A hotbed for innovation

Sydney has a global reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship, with NSW home to 64% of Australia's total start-up activity (Startup Genome Report).

The city boasts a range of quantum success stories making innovative strides in quantum technology including:

Sydney’s entrepreneurial scene has also helped attract some big players. A range of international technology companies are highly engaged in Sydney's quantum capabilities, including AWS (Amazon Web Services), IBM, Google, and Microsoft.

Strong government support

The NSW Government has played a vital role in seeding growth in new technology and the startup economy.

SQA is located at The Quantum Terminal, a new co-working space for innovators in quantum technology, high performance computing, AI and adjacent technologies. The Quantum Terminal is located in the heart of Sydney's Tech Central Precinct - a precinct designed for collaboration between world-class universities, startups, large technology companies and the community. The NSW Government has committed over $48.2 million in funding to bring Tech Central to life.

These initiatives combined with the NSW Government’s $15.4 million investment in the establishment of the SQA in 2020, demonstrates the government’s commitment to creating a thriving technology sector with the quantum economy playing a significant role.

The Australian government has also announced a number of initiatives to support development of quantum technologies. Read about the Australian government's investment in quantum technologies and quantum initiatives from the national science agency, CSIRO.

quantum microscope

Search the list of Sydney quantum experts

The Sydney quantum experts list research leaders across SQA’s partner universities. Search this list for potential supervisors.

People at whiteboard opaque

Images courtesy of the Australian National Fabrication Facility at UNSW and the University of Sydney.