28 Oct 2021

Realising the benefits of quantum today

Fujitsu, NatWest, BEIS and the UK Space Agency joined together in a panel discussion at The Quantum Summit 2021 to discuss how we can commercialise Quantum and AI to realise the benefits today. Day four of techUK's Quantum Commercialisation week #QuantumUK

To begin the conversation, Pippa Sharma, Deputy Director of Technology Strategy and Security at BEIS shared the importance of shining a light on the cutting edge technology that’s being delivered in the UK, stating that ‘there’s never been a better time to work in the UK, in science and tech’.

Marie Tilbee, Space Surveillance and Tracking Policy Lead at UK Space Agency brings the technology to life describing how space is a good proofing ground for technology such as Quantum and AI. With space missions being extremely complex challenges, innovation is welcomed to alleviate some of the complexity. Marie said that ‘the project that the UK Space Agency has worked on with Fujitsu and its partners really demonstrates the results we can get when we bring together a powerful consortium. Fujitsu have been demonstrating the power of their digital annealer, enabled to optimise space debris missions. But you’ve also had the expertise from Astroscale, the University of Glasgow and Amazon Web Services to make this into a commercial viable product.’

Sebastien Geroult, Head of Counterparty Credit Risk and Structured Finance Stress Testing Analytics, NatWest unveils whether we should we be concerned about quantum-inspired technologies falling into the wrong hands resulting in cryptography or security breaches. And Dr David Snelling from Fujitsu taps into the government’s role in advancing the UK’s position as a quantum pioneer, and what this means for our economic success.

Watch the full interview discussion below:

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Laura Foster

Head of Technology and Innovation, techUK

Laura is techUK’s Head of Programme for Technology and Innovation.

She supports the application and expansion of emerging technologies, including Quantum Computing, High-Performance Computing, AR/VR/XR and Edge technologies, across the UK. As part of this, she works alongside techUK members and UK Government to champion long-term and sustainable innovation policy that will ensure the UK is a pioneer in science and technology

Before joining techUK, Laura worked internationally as a conference researcher and producer covering enterprise adoption of emerging technologies. This included being part of the strategic team at London Tech Week.

Laura has a degree in History (BA Hons) from Durham University, focussing on regional social history. Outside of work she loves reading, travelling and supporting rugby team St. Helens, where she is from.