At the recent Deep Tech Atelier and Pledgers’ Share & Connect events in Riga, we sat down with Aurél Gábris, Chair, at Pledger, QWorld, and discussed the critical capacity gaps in Quantum research that need closing urgently.
“The message is clear,” Aurél said, “the future will need more than talent, it will need training capacity.”
And therein lies the challenge.
According to Aurél, most conversations in Europe around bridging skills gaps and training talent, often focus too narrowly on the latest tech hype, without actually acknowledging the existing systemic gaps in the educational infrastructure.
He said: “There is not enough training capacity full stop!”
“We are ramping up demand without ramping up the number of educators, the resources, or the systems to deliver that training. It is not just about students. It is about the people who teach them.”
He explained that the ecosystem is split between two types of learners: domain specialists and the ‘quantum curious’, and highlighted that while there are Master’s degrees in Quantum Technologies for people with bachelor degrees in physics or electrical and software engineers, etc., there is a lack of ‘generalist’ programmes for people, who are not specialists, but want to add quantum skills to their toolkit.
It is in that second category, Aurél argues, that ecosystems such as the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) could play a transformative role. With a wide interdisciplinary reach and a network beyond the traditional quantum community, EIT is uniquely positioned to democratise access to quantum skills.
He said: “We in the quantum world do not have outreach to different domains and sectors, so, it makes perfect sense for EIT to take the lead in bringing quantum education to non-specialists, at least in the next five years.”
Beyond the lab: Building entrepreneurial mindsets … and patience
Aurél highlighted that if Europe wants to lead in the quantum arena, education alone will not be enough, and stressed that entrepreneurship training needs to be embedded into the academic journey.
“We have to equip our students with entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. Not everyone will start a company, but everyone needs to understand the commercial landscape of their field.”
When it comes to investment and industry matchmaking, Aurél pointed out that building investment ecosystems is not QWorld’s core area of expertise, but what they can do is prepare their graduates to be part of those ecosystems and be able to speak the same language.
However, Aurél is frank about quantum’s timeline, highlighting the importance of not expecting instant results. He said: “We will not know what quantum computers can actually do until the hardware is production-ready. Until then, it’s speculation.
“But once it hits that tipping point, real innovation will take off, and likely in directions we cannot even imagine yet.”
Look beyond quantum computing
While quantum computing and quantum communication gets most of the attention, Aurél urges stakeholders to keep an eye on quantum sensing and imaging, as they are areas that may hit the real market much earlier.
He explained that inside the quantum community, it is common knowledge that sensing is the most likely field to have near-term impact, but outside of the community it is still underrated.
“If I were advising investors or educators, I would say: do not sleep on quantum sensing.”
Another promising area is quantum communication, but Aurél notes that it is sensing that is furthest along the maturity curve. He said: “This is not science fiction, it is close to being commercially viable, and it has huge potential in fields like healthcare, defence, and environmental monitoring.”
In a field defined by uncertainty, concerning its capacity gaps, sustainability, and talent pipelines, Aurél has a clear message:
“It is not about who shouts the loudest. It is about who builds the strongest foundation. And right now, that means training educators, not just students.”
As Europe races to define its quantum edge, voices like Aurél’s are a reminder that the most powerful technical revolutions do not start with hype, they start with homework!
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