CHALLENGE
To set up a complete Quantum Communication Lab and programme at the university
The National Quantum Mission selection required the university to establish a laboratory, a curriculum aligned with its degree programmes, and a body of qualified faculty. The third requirement was the hardest, because faculty who could teach quantum communication at professional standard did not yet exist at the required scale.
Key Challenges
- India had no pool of ready quantum communication faculty for the university to hire.
- Every downstream commitment depended on certified educators, including the planned student elective and the statewide mentoring mandate.
- Under the Hub-and-Spoke model, the university mentors more than 100 colleges which multiplies the teaching capacity the programme must create.
SOLUTION
A trained faculty cohort and a comprehensive, fully functional Quantum Communication Lab delivered as one programme
The MoU established a Quantum Communication Hub in Tamil Nadu. It covers five workstreams:
- A Centre for Quantum Information, Computing and Communications Research houses a dedicated Quantum Communication Lab.
- Faculty earn certification through the QNu Academy framework.
- A core elective takes B.Tech students through the curriculum.
- The two institutions pursue joint research under the National Quantum Mission.
- A Hub-and-Spoke model extends mentoring to affiliated colleges.
QNu Academy: Faculty Certification and the Quantum Communications Lab
Seventeen faculty members from five departments completed the programme, which runs from Quantum Information Theory to Post-Quantum Cryptography.
The two teams built the programme together through the academic year. QNu Academy mapped the curriculum to the university's degree structures and delivered the sessions on campus as working workshops, with the faculty operating the lab's equipment directly and learning from experimentation.
The laboratory is built around Armos, QNu's quantum key distribution system, and Tropos, its quantum random number generator. The same platforms run in India's defence and banking networks, and the student curriculum was written for these physical systems.
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The collaboration between QNu Labs and [the university] has been instrumental in establishing a state-of-the-art Quantum Communication Laboratory on campus. QNu's technical expertise, advanced quantum communication solutions, and hands-on training have provided our faculty and students with valuable exposure to real-world quantum technologies.
Professor and Associate Chairperson, Department of Computing Technologies, School of Computing
The University: Infrastructure, Faculty Time and the Teaching Mandate
The university provided the space and infrastructure at the Department of Computing Technologies, School of Computing, and committed its faculty to the programme. The partnership also extends into joint research under the National Quantum Mission, with co-authored publications in scope. This marked a major milestone for the Mission.
DEPLOYMENT AND VALIDATION
How it was delivered
- MoU and Centre establishment: The MoU was signed in July 2025, with about ₹1.5 crore earmarked for lab and training infrastructure.
- Faculty certification: University faculty completed structured training and certification during the 2025-26 academic year.
- Lab commissioning: QNu Labs built the laboratory on Armos, its state-of-the-art QKD platform.
- Inauguration and certification ceremony: The university opened the lab in July 2026, with the Vice Chancellor, the Mission Director of the National Quantum Mission, QNu Labs' CEO, and the heads of the national quantum hubs at IIT Madras Research Park and IISc Bengaluru in attendance. The faculty cohort received their certificates at the event.
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The National Quantum Mission was envisioned to make India a leader in quantum technologies. This lab built with DST's support and QNu Labs' expertise, is a landmark step in that journey, taking quantum research out of isolated centres and into the hands of the students who will define India's quantum future.
Dr. JBV REDDY, Head QTC, National Quantum Mission, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India
OUTCOME
Five outcomes from the programme
- A working lab on campus: Physical QKD hardware is running on campus, and students work directly on it.
- India's first certified faculty cohort: Seventeen faculty across five departments earned certification to teach professional quantum communication courses.
- A defensible teaching standard: Certification gives the university a standard it can scale across departments and affiliated colleges.
- A self-reliant and fully equipped team: The university owns the lab, employs the certified faculty, and runs the teaching programme without QNu.
- A pathway to institutional scale: The certified faculty will first teach 120 students in the core elective, then extend the programme to more than 100 colleges through the Hub-and-Spoke system.
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This partnership gives our students access to sovereign, deployed quantum technology — not just textbooks. It's how [the university] prepares the next generation to lead the field globally, from India with QNu Labs.
Vice Chancellor, [University Name]
WHY QNU ACADEMY
Training built on real, deployed technology, delivered as a single programme
QNu Academy is the training division of QNu Labs, a global leader in hybrid quantum security backed by the National Quantum Mission. QNu systems run in the Defence, Telecom, BFSI, Power, Space and Government sectors, and its network technology has been proven in a 1,000 km quantum-safe demonstration. The Academy delivers lab setup, curriculum development, faculty and student training, assessment and certification as one programme.