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Join us at IEEE Quantum Week 2026, IWQC, QRE, and beyond

By Lara Watson · August 20, 2026

Xanadu is heading to IEEE Quantum Week 2026 in Toronto, and hosting IWQC, QRE, and unitaryCON at Xanadu HQ. Here is where to find our speakers, how to meet the team, and what is coming next with QHack 2026.

By Lara Watson

September is shaping up to be an incredibly exciting time for the quantum community!

With IEEE Quantum Week (IEEE QW) happening right in our own backyard at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the 8th iterations of both the International Workshop on Quantum Compilation (IWQC) and the International Workshop on Quantum Resource Estimation (QRE), and unitaryCON (by invitation only) being hosted at Xanadu HQ, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to connect with all of you.

We have a packed agenda and can't wait to share what we've been working on.

Let's dive in.

IEEE QW

September 13th-18th 2026

Schedule of Xanadu speakers at IEEE Quantum Week 2026

From a hands-on deep dive into our quantum software, PennyLane, to the latest developments in our quantum hardware and where we believe the future of quantum is heading, we are hosting a range of informative and engaging sessions at IEEE QW.

Here is where you can find our speakers during the week. Click the links for more information:

Monday, September 14

Time	Session	Room	Speaker/s
8:00–9:30 AM	Scaling Photonic Quantum ComputingKeynote	Main Stage	Dr. Christian Weedbrook
1:00–4:30 PM	Preparing for Fault-Tolerant Applications by Programming with PennyLaneTutorial	717A	Ben Lau, Daniel Nino, Catalina Albornoz
1:30–2:30 PM	Practical Quantum Computing Education: A Hands-on Tutorial with PennyLane (QSEEC26)Tutorial	604	Daniel Nino and Ben Lau
3:00–4:30 PM	Quantum at scale: Binational strategies for bridging the gap between academic research & commercial operationPanel	801B	Ben Lau

Tuesday, September 15

Time	Session	Room	Speaker/s
10:00 AM–4:30 PM	Quantum Resource EstimationWorkshop	714B	Jay Soni
1:00–2:30 PM	Bridging the Gap between Compiler Developers and ScientistsBoF	801A	Catalina Albornoz, Josh Izaac
3:00–4:30 PM	From Research to Commercialization: Defining the Quantum Workforce for the Next Five YearsPanel	718A	Daniel Nino

Wednesday, September 16

Time	Session	Room	Speaker/s
10:00–11:30 AM	Enabling Programming Abstractions for More Effective Quantum Software DevelopmentWorkshop	601A/B	Josh Izaac
1:00–2:30 PM	Quantum and Generative AI for Financial Services: From Innovation to Secure AdoptionPanel	801B	Stepan Fomichev

Thursday, September 17

Time	Session	Room	Speaker/s
10:00 AM–4:30 PM	Quantum Software 2.6: Current challenges and headways in quantum softwareWorkshop	718B	Lee J. O'Riordan, Catalina Albornoz, Josh Izaac
10:00 AM–4:30 PM	openQSE: Co-Designing the Quantum Software Stack from Applications to Control SystemsWorkshop	714A	Josh Izaac

Friday, September 18

Time	Session	Room	Speaker/s
1:00–2:30 PM	From Quantum's role in industrial R&D: integrating quantum, HPC, and AI into end-to-end workflowsBoF	801B	Yanbing Zhou

To keep up to date with any timetable changes, make sure to check the IEEE website and sign up for the event app. You can also use the IEEE event app to "star" sessions and receive notifications for those you want to attend.

Meet the Team

We are proud to sponsor the inaugural IEEE QW Canadian Quantum Pavillion (CQP) within the IEEE QW Exhibits, a space dedicated to fostering discovery and connection within Canada's quantum community. Join our team throughout the week to say hello, grab some exclusive swag, and meet the scientists behind our work. We look forward to seeing you there!

Register for IEEE QW.

Can't make it to our talks or the CQP? Request a meeting with our team.

IWQC

September 19th-20th 2026

We are looking forward to hosting the IWQC at the Xanadu office in downtown Toronto. The IWQC brings scientists together from across the globe to develop: new methods for circuit synthesis, optimization, and rewriting, techniques for verifying the correctness of quantum programs, and new techniques for compiling efficient circuits and protocols regarding fault-tolerant and architecture constraints. This year will feature two invited speakers, sixteen talks selected by our international program committee, and an engaging poster session.

Register for IWQC to hear from an incredible lineup of accepted speakers, including two scientists from our team: Catalina Albornoz and Guillermo Alonso. IWQC 2026

QRE

September 21st 2026

QRE at Xanadu this year will center on the topics of meaningful fault-tolerant algorithms and enabling quantum computing architectures. The one-day event will feature twelve speakers and an engaging poster session. Learn how PennyLane models resource costs for fault-tolerant algorithms with Jay Soni at 8:30 AM. Stick around to hear how resource estimation can begin even before a circuit is designed, in a talk by William Maxwell at 2 PM. Learn more about QRE.

Register for QRE.

QHack 2026

October 16th-23rd 2026

The fun doesn't end when the clock strikes October. The rumours are true; our highly anticipated event, QHack, is back! Mark your calendars for the QHack Coding Challenge Championship running from October 16th-23rd. This year, we're focusing on the most celebrated element of QHack: the coding challenges. Stay connected and up-to-date with the latest and greatest before registration opens on August 24th by signing up for our QHack email list.

Stay Connected

Become a Xanadu insider and get our monthly newsletter straight to your inbox. Stay up-to-date with our latest hardware developments, partnerships, events, career opportunities and more. Sign up for our Xanadu newsletter.

Get your roundup of all the latest in open-source updates, events, demos, tech breakthroughs and community highlights by signing up for our PennyLane newsletter.

Whether you're new to quantum computing or a seasoned pro, there will be something for everyone to explore in the coming months. We can't wait to learn and engage with this amazing community that, if you've read this far, you're definitely a part of.

See you soon!

-Team Xanadu

Published on August 20, 2026

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