Japanese Ambassador Hideo Suzuki invited Prof. Akiro Furusawa of the University of Tokyo to dinner in Prague, along with scientists and experts in quantum communication and representatives of the Czech government. One of the guests at the Japanese residence was Prof. Igor Jex from the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague (FNSPE).

Prof. Akiro Furusawa is a leading Japanese expert in research in the field of quantum optics and quantum computing and ten years ago he collaborated on research with Palacký University in Olomouc. At the University of Tokyo, he heads Furusawa & Endo Labs.

After his short lecture, guests were already discussing over dinner on Tuesday, 6 September 2022, a precursor to closer collaboration in education and science in the field of quantum technologies. There is interest in this cooperation both from the Japanese hosts and from the Czech institutions represented, in addition to Prof. Igor Jex, by the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prof. Eva Zažímalová, Prof. Radim Filip from the Palacký University in Olomouc, the Director of the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics at the Czech Technical University in Prague Ondřej Velko, the Director of the Department of Digital Economy and Smart Specialization of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Daniel Všetečka or the Special Representative for Science Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Petr Kaiser.

FNSPE is very active in the field of quantum technologies. For several years now, the Faculty has offered both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Quantum Technologies. The faculty is also involved in international projects in this field. For example, it cooperates in the educational part of the European Quantum Flagship project called QTEdu Open Master. Quantum Technologies is also one of the sub-programmes of the Theory research programme within the Centre of Advanced Applied Science (CAAS) project.