Apply to host an event at Qiskit Fall Fest 2025

It’s almost that time of year again! Qiskit Fall Fest is returning for its fifth annual installment to once again bring the quantum community together for a global celebration of quantum technology, research, and collaboration. Led primarily by students and taking place on university campuses around the world, the event series will run from October to November, and we need your help to make it the best it can be.

In honor of the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, this year’s Qiskit Fall Fest theme will celebrate the century-long history of quantum science and innovation. Many of the bespoke materials we’re creating for this year’s events will center on specific experiments and notable events that occurred during that first 100 years. Interested in hosting an event as part of this year’s Fall Fest lineup? Read on to learn more about how you can contribute.

Qiskit Fall Fest is a collection of quantum computing events that allows students, researchers and industry professionals to participate in various quantum-themed activities — including quantum challenges, hackathons, coding competitions, workshops, social events, and more. Each year, IBM® partners with a select group of university students and other volunteer hosts to help them plan and run the global roster of Fall Fest events.

Last year’s Qiskit Fall Fest engaged over 9,000 participants with the help of 100 event hosts all working alongside IBM Quantum™ to grow their local quantum communities. We hope to see even more participants in 2025!

I would like to thank IBM for the opportunity to make this event happen...and for strengthening, engaging, and uniting our quantum community.

Photo from Qiskit Fall Fest 2024

How to get involved

We’re looking for volunteers all around the world to host their very own events as part of the Qiskit Fall Fest lineup. We’ll provide details on host eligibility in the next section of this blog post, but in general, we’re looking for anyone and everyone who has a passion for quantum computing.

Interested in hosting your own Fall Fest event? Click this link to register for one of the Qiskit Fall Fest informational sessions we’ll be holding this summer for prospective event hosts. Please note that prospective event hosts must attend at least one informational session to get access to the event host application.

The informational sessions will take place between Thursday, 14 August and Tuesday, 19 August, and will give prospective event hosts important insights into the requirements and time commitments involved with running a Qiskit Fall Fest event.

If you’d like to participate in Qiskit Fall Fest but don’t plan on hosting an event, you can also use the same registration link to sign up for the Qiskit Fall Fest mailing list, which will keep you up-to-date with all the latest details on this year’s events.

Please submit all registrations for the Qiskit Fall Fest informational sessions and/or mailing list by Wednesday, 13 August.

After the informational sessions, prospective event hosts will submit applications detailing their background and expertise in quantum computing. Applications will be due Tuesday, 26 August and decisions will be announced later that week. Be sure to check the sidebar at the top of this page for all key dates.

The full roster of Qiskit Fall Fest 2025 events will be announced to the public in early September, and the events themselves will take place in October and November.

This event has definitely helped our society grow, as it brought us a lot more members as well as knowledge.

Qiskit Fall Fest 2024

Who can host a Fall Fest event?

Most — though not all — Qiskit Fall Fest events take place on university campuses and are led by university students. We believe the student leaders of today will be the quantum industry leaders of tomorrow, which is why we’ve put students at the forefront since first launching Qiskit Fall Fest in 2021.

At the same time, remember that anyone can participate in and even host a Qiskit Fall Fest event. Don’t have access to a university campus? No problem! In the past, we’ve had high school students, recent graduates, and even industry professionals host events that take place virtually and in other appropriate settings.

Just be sure to register for the informational sessions by 13 August and submit your application for an event by 26 August. If it’s a fit, we’ll work with you to bring it to life. (Reminder: Only those who attend one of the informational sessions will receive access to the event host application.)

By the end of the event, it received numerous compliments, with participants expressing their gratitude for the opportunity and their interest in continuing to develop in the field, as well as forming study groups to further their knowledge.

Qiskit Fall Fest 2024

Click here to register for the mailing list and informational sessions.