PQHack is an hackathon aimed at the quantum computing community in Portugal. Whether you are a veteran quantum physicist or a coding enthusiast curious about quantum computers, it is a unique event to learn about the exciting possibilities offered by the quantum world!
The 2025 edition will be an in-person event on the 8th and 9th of February, hosted by the University of Porto in collaboration with Pasqal and the University of Coimbra.
In this innovative event, you will compete to solve a set of quantum computing coding challenges proposed by our team of experts. But you have to be quick! You will only have twenty four hours to deliver your solution. To be successful, you will need to collaborate in a team.
Don’t wait too long - there is a limit of 40 participants. The registration deadline is January 15.
When and where?
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The full event will last from February 8 at 11:00 until February 9 at 16:30. There will be an initial session, a hacking period of 24h, an evaluation period, and a closing session.
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This will be an in-person event, hosted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (Rua do Campo Alegre 4169-007 Porto).
Prerequisites and guidelines
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The event is open to students from all universities.
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We expect you to be familiar with programming in Python.
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Basic knowledge of quantum computing will be useful (qubits, quantum states, quantum gates, measurements).
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You will need to bring your own computer to the event.
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You will compete in teams of 2 to 4 members.
Do you want to gear up for the challenge? Become a member of the Pasqal Community to get access to:
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Interactive learning modules in the Quantum Quest platform for high-level insights into quantum computing.
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The Qadence software development kit for hands-on experience with quantum programming.
Contacts
For any questions, you can email the organizers:
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Duarte Magano – duartemagano@fc.up.pt
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João Moutinho – joao.moutinho@pasqal.com
FAQs
The prize pool for this competition is 1500 EUR, which will be split between the winners. The winners will be decided by our juri, composed of quantum computing researchers working in academia and industry.
The event is aimed at university students. You should at least be enrolled or have completed a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (Math, Computer Science, Physics, Engineering) and should not have defended PhD degree by January 15 (the closing date for the registration).
Yes! If you don’t have a team formed, register alone and we will help you form a team or set you up with an existing one.
We only accept teams with up to four people. If you have a group larger than that, we suggest you break it up into smaller teams.
We expect to begin on February 8 around 11:00 and end on February 9 at 16:30. The hacking period will be a total of twenty four hours, during which you will compete to solve the challenges.
You can, but you don’t need to. It’s ok if you need to rest for a bit. You can also plan shifts with your team mates to make the most out of the time you have.
You can spend the entire event at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, but you don’t need to. You are expected to work most of the time at the event site, and there will be dedicated rooms where you can work together with your team. However, you are free to wonder wherever you want during the competition (including going home).
You are free to leave the event site and sleep wherever you want (including home). But you can also bring your sleeping bag and take a nap during the competition! There will be a designated area for some quiet time.
We will provide drinks (water, coffee, and tea) throughout the event, as well as some snacks. Any larger meals should be planned in advance by you and your team.
This is exclusively an in-person event, and remote participation is not allowed.
The juri will be around the event site and reachable online during the competition for any technical support. Requesting help from other people outside the event is not allowed and may get you disqualified.
No. The juri’s decision is final and cannot be contested. The awards will be given according to the juri’s evaluation. The juri reserves the right to alter or deny the prize in the event of a disqualification.