FAQ

No. The course assumes no prior knowledge of quantum mechanics: every quantum-mechanical concept needed for quantum information processing is introduced and developed during the course. What you do need is solid linear algebra, Python proficiency and basic computational complexity.

Two complementary environments: Qiskit (Python, IBM Quantum) for quantum algorithms, and QuantumSavory.jl (Julia) for quantum network simulation. No prior experience with Julia is assumed — it is introduced in the lab.

Yes, whenever resources are available: the Quantum Software Laboratory includes executing circuits on real IBM Quantum processors and comparing the results with ideal simulations. Be aware that IBM Quantum's free Open Plan currently grants only 10 minutes of QPU time per month, so runs on real hardware are planned carefully and used sparingly.

It depends on how many students take the course: with small numbers the project is individual, with larger numbers it is carried out in small groups. Topics are proposed by the professor and typically require Qiskit and/or QuantumSavory.jl. When groups are formed, the whole group takes the oral examination together.

By evaluating both your understanding of the course material (individual oral examination — a quantum circuit to analyse, then theoretical questions) and the quality of your project work.

Two parts, always in this order. First, quantum circuit analysis: the professor writes a simple quantum circuit on the blackboard and you determine the state of the system at some intermediate stages and at the output — the input state may be pure or mixed, entangled or separable — then calculate the outcomes and probabilities of the measurements, in the computational basis or in other specified bases. Then theoretical questions on the course topics.

Sample theoretical questions

Projects are assigned approximately two weeks before the end of the course and are valid only for that academic year, so do not ask for one after that deadline. If you take the exam in a later year, contact the professor: the project may need updating, and in any case it must be developed with the platform presented in the most recent academic year.

The project and the presentation slides must be submitted at least one week before the exam date; after that the material is final and cannot be changed. Before the presentation, which takes place in the classroom during the exam, the Committee gives you a detailed review report on what you submitted.

Project rules

No — from a bureaucratic standpoint attendance is not mandatory. Lectures, and especially the Quantum Software Laboratory sessions, are however strongly recommended.

Through the official University of Pisa exam portal, esami.unipi.it, as for any other course.

esami.unipi.it

Slides and laboratory material will be published on the course's Microsoft Teams channel during the semester — not on this website.

Yes: both the professor and the laboratory instructor can meet you online via Microsoft Teams, after agreeing on day and time by email. See the Contacts page for the templates.

Yes, provided you do so critically and responsibly — but their use is entirely optional, and the project can be completed without AI assistance. They are productivity aids, not substitutes for understanding: you remain fully responsible for validating the software you submit, interpreting its results and understanding how it works.