Career
Internship at the University of Parma’s Quantum Software Laboratory
Open to PhD Candidates | Internship period: 3 months, starting mid-September
The Quantum Software Laboratory has recently started investigating high-dimensional quantum internet applications and distributed quantum computing, where high-dimensional means that qudits are considered instead of the conventional 2-level qubits. Qudits lead to better decompositions of known algorithms for qubits (smaller circuit depths) with an important reduction of the number of error-prone two-body operations [1]. Furthermore, and even more importantly in the long term, the larger Hilbert space of qudits can be exploited to dramatically reduce the resource overhead typical of multi-qubit schemes [2], also concerning quantum communication [3,4].
The proposed internship activity will focus on studying potential high-dimensional quantum internet applications. This means learning how to implement qudit-based quantum algorithms and protocols, by reviewing the existing literature (e.g., [5,6,7]), and designing novel application-driven solutions. At the end of the internship period, the intern will provide a report describing the research activity carried out.
The ideal candidate is a PhD student with some expertise in quantum networking, quantum algorithms, and quantum software development.
References
[1] L. E. Fischer, A. Chiesa, F. Tacchino, D. J. Egger, S. Carretta, I. Tavernelli, Universal qudit gate synthesis for transmons, PRX Quantum 4 (2023) 030327.
[2] A. Chiesa, P. Santini, E. Garlatti, F. Luis, S. Carretta, Molecular nanomagnets: a viable path toward quantum information processing? Rep. Progr. Phys. 87 (3) (2024) 034501
[3] D. Cozzolino, B. Da Lio, D. Bacco, L. K. Oxenlowe, High-Dimensional Quantum Communication: Benefits, Progress, and Future Challenges, Advanced Quantum Technologies 2 (2019) 12
[4] H. Yu et al., Quantum key distribution implemented with d-level timebin entangled photons, Nature Communications 16 (2025) 171
[5] A. S. Nikolaeva et al., Efficient realization of quantum algorithms with qudits, EPJ Quantum technology 11 (2024) 43
[6] F. Pudda et al., Generalised Quantum Gates for Qudits and their Application in Quantum Fourier Transform, arXiv.2410.05122 (2024)
[7] MQT Qudits Tutorial https://mqt.readthedocs.io/projects/qudits/en/latest/tutorial.html
Internship supervisor
Michele Amoretti, Director of Quantum Software Lab at the Department of Engineering and Architecture
About Quantum Software Lab
Main research interests are quantum algorithms, quantum compiling and gate synthesis, quantum protocols and quantum network applications, distributed quantum computing, quantum optimization, quantum machine learning, application-oriented benchmarking of quantum computing systems, quantum error correction and HPC/quantum integration.
Interested in this internship? Send an application on or before 31 May 2026!
To submit an application, send your CV (max 2 pages) and motivation letter to info@quantuminternetalliance.org on or before 31 May 2026. Kindly write “INTERNSHIP APPLICATION” on the subject line of your email.
*List of eligible countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden
