On April 23, 2026, ten schoolgirls from grades 7 to 10 visited the Scientific Computing Center ( SCC ) at KIT as part of Girls' Day. On this day, the girls were given an insight into the divisions of technology, science and crafts. We at the SCC invited them to get to know our research in quantum computing and to try it out in practice using digital images. The girls were accompanied through the day by the Quantum Machine Learning team.
But what exactly does our research in quantum computing look like today? Instead of physical quantum computers, quantum simulators are still mostly used to validate research results. The course therefore began with a guided tour of the HoreKa supercomputer operated by the SCC. Together with a small supercomputing team, the students explored the system's hardware and hot water cooling up close. The tour provided a vivid demonstration of how modern high-performance computers work. This was followed by a theoretical introduction to quantum computing. Lunch was followed by the practical part.
With the help of interactive Jupyter notebooks, the necessary basics of programming were first taught. To loosen things up, the students were able to consolidate what they had previously learned in a fun "quantum memory". Everyone showed great enthusiasm and demonstrated their newly acquired knowledge. At the end of the day, the students implemented their own quantum circuits and worked on a picture of a cat using different quantum simulations as an example. In addition to the possibilities of superposition and interlinkage, they also learned about the effects of noise on quantum computers. In the context of image processing, this also allowed them to create very interesting new images.
The visit to the SCC offered the students a practical insight into the operation of a high-performance computer as well as research in the Division of Quantum Computing. The combination of a technical tour, theoretical introduction and interactive workshops showed the girls a varied spectrum of the diverse mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and engineering, MINT topics at SCC.
Contact at SCC: Dr. Eileen Kühn