Positioning itself at the forefront of the second quantum revolution, SRM University–AP, Amaravati, in partnership with IBM Quantum, hosted the “SRMAP Qiskit Fall Fest 2026” from October 26–30, 2026. Selected as a global Partner Plus Host and serving as the exclusive Qiskit Fall Fest host institution in the Amaravati region, the university aligned the festival with the global theme “A Decade of Quantum on Cloud,” marking ten years since IBM first democratised access to quantum computing. Organised by the Quantum Technology Institute (QuTI) and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the multi-day event brought together academic leaders, industry pioneers, researchers, and students to explore quantum software, hardware control, and enterprise applications.
Welcoming delegates on Day 1, Dr Varsha Sambhaje, Assistant Professor at QuTI and CSE, officially inaugurated the festival. Highlighting the institutional vision, Prof. Jatindra Kumar Dash, Dean – Academic Affairs, emphasized the critical need for interdisciplinary quantum education, noting that disruptive technologies will generate opportunities across mathematics, physics, and computer science while revolutionising domains like quantum cryptography. Prof. Somnath Bhattacharyya, Dean – QuTI, alongside Sri Venkata Swamy Tadikonda, Head – QAIC Program (AQV), urged students to leverage open-source SDKs like Qiskit to build real-world use cases, actively contributing to regional initiatives such as the Amaravati Quantum Valley project. Strategic insights were also shared by international and industry experts, including Prof. Gregory Skulmoski from Bond University, Australia, and Prof. Durga B Rao Dasari, Director of the Quantum Software Division at Qbit Force, who detailed how Qiskit facilitates exploration across quantum sensing, simulation, and communication.
Transitioning from foundational concepts to industrial deployment, Day 2 featured deep-tech sessions by leading industry experts. Durga Preetham, Quantum Control Software Engineer at Qbit Force, discussed cryogenic control software and early warning systems vital for maintaining 10-millikelvin stability in superconducting qubits. Exploring post-quantum cybersecurity, Vijay Krishna Somaraju, CEO of Vyapthi Resonance, and Laxmi Chandolia, COO of SafeQbit, addressed the vulnerabilities of current RSA-2048 encryption protocols against quantum algorithms, advocating for robust post-quantum cryptography layers. Addressing enterprise integration, Amitabh Srivatsav from Amitabh Dev Labs presented OLEMIC—a sovereign quantum-classical orchestration platform designed to overcome data gravity and middleware latency without compromising proprietary enterprise data. Additionally, Naga Chaitanya, Founder & CEO of TriQuanta Labs, presented neutral-atom quantum architectures as scalable, cryogenics-free alternatives, while Satwik from Silicofeller demonstrated AI-assisted unified quantum chip design workflows, and Mohit from Qualium AI highlighted hybrid classical-quantum frameworks like MinOS.
By bridging theoretical breakthroughs with enterprise deployment and cryogenics engineering, SRMAP Qiskit Fall Fest 2026 reinforced SRM University–AP’s mission to serve as a premier hub for deep-tech innovation, equipping students to lead the global quantum workforce.
