Quantum Universe EXPO

From August 25 to 27, 2026, we held the Quantum Infinity for You EXPO in Singapore, a three-day workshop on quantum computing.

In this report, we look back at the lectures, hands-on sessions, group work, final presentations, and the atmosphere throughout the three-day event.

The Singapore workshop was the eighth stop in the QI4U EXPO series, which began in Italy in early February 2026.

One of the unique features of this workshop was that we covered both gate-based quantum computing and quantum annealing.

While both approaches were introduced mainly in the context of optimization problems, our goal was to help participants understand their different characteristics and explore what types of problems each approach may be suitable for.

Ultimately, we wanted participants to think about how quantum computing could be applied to familiar topics and real-world challenges in Singapore, and to use this experience as a starting point for future research, business opportunities, and continued collaboration between Japan and Singapore.

The workshop was organized with the support of Professor Hoong Chuin Lau, Xinwei Lee, and Monit Sharma from Singapore Management University(SMU) who contributed lectures and hands-on sessions focusing mainly on gate-based quantum computing.

We were also grateful for the support of A*STAR, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, which provided the venue for the workshop.

Day 1 began with an introduction to the workshop by Professor Lau.

This was followed by lectures from Professor Masayuki Ohzeki of Tohoku University and Professor Lau of SMU, who introduced their respective research perspectives on quantum computing.

Professor Ohzeki explained the motivation and potential of quantum computing and introduced a variety of real-world applications of quantum annealing that his group has explored.

Many participants already had some familiarity with quantum computing, but the concrete examples of real-world applications attracted strong interest and helped demonstrate the breadth of problems to which quantum technologies may be applied.

At the end of his lecture, Professor Ohzeki also introduced an application he developed to support the process of creating quantum-based solutions.

Professor Lau then gave a lecture entitled Hybrid Quantum-Classical Approaches for Optimisation. His research group at SMU studies optimization methods based primarily on gate-based quantum computing.

Current gate-based quantum computers still face hardware limitations, including the number of available qubits and the effects of noise. Against this background, Prof. Lau discussed how quantum and classical computing can be combined in hybrid approaches and how constraints in optimization problems can be treated effectively.

During the lectures, many participants took detailed notes, and some industry participants asked questions with practical applications in mind.

At the same time, even when the potential of quantum computing is clear, it can be difficult to imagine how these ideas translate into actual implementations from theory alone.

For this reason, after lunch, students from Prof. Ohzeki’s group and members of Prof. Lau’s group introduced detailed case studies and conducted hands-on sessions in which participants could run the programs themselves.

The afternoon began with case studies on gate-based quantum computing presented by Xinwei Lee and Monit Sharma.

Lee introduced Custom Penalty VQE and explained how constraints can be treated when applying the Variational Quantum Eigensolver, or VQE, to constrained optimization problems.

Monit introduced Quantum Amplitude Estimation, or QAE, using the Newsvendor Problem as an example. Participants learned how QAE can be used to estimate expectation values under uncertain demand and how such estimates can support decision-making and optimization.

By running the programs themselves, participants were able to connect the concepts introduced in the morning lectures with concrete implementations.

The workshop then moved on to applications of quantum annealing to combinatorial optimization. Mizuki Muto, Takumi Okuyama, and Kouki Fujiwara from Ohzeki’s group each led a lecture and hands-on session.

Muto explained the basic idea of searching for the ground state using quantum annealing and introduced how real optimization problems can be formulated in QUBO form, using the Number Partitioning Problem as an example.

Connecting the concepts from the earlier lectures to equations and code gave participants a more concrete understanding of how quantum annealing is actually used.

QUBO stands for Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization and is one of the standard formulations widely used to represent combinatorial optimization problems for quantum annealing.

Next, Okuyama presented Optimizing Traffic and Traffic Lights using Quantum Annealing.

In this hands-on session, participants used a real map of Singapore and worked on optimizing traffic flows and traffic lights around Singapore Management University. Using a familiar local area as the case study made the optimization problem more tangible and easier to connect with real-world applications!

Finally, Fujiwara introduced portfolio optimization using quantum annealing, a topic closely connected to Singapore’s role as a major financial center.

Using real open data, participants worked on optimizing portfolios consisting of stocks and bonds. They were also able to change the assets included in the problem themselves, allowing them to experiment with questions such as which assets they would choose for their own portfolio.

Day 1 was packed with information, but before finishing, we formed the groups for the project work beginning the following day. A total of 23 participants were divided into five groups.

At the end of the day, we told the participants, “You have probably taken in a lot today. Starting tomorrow, let’s work together to create new solutions.”

With that, the first day came to a close.

This workshop was quite challenging: participants had to come up with ideas, turn them into solution proposals, and even implement them within a very limited amount of time.

Today, generative AI makes it possible to write code even without advanced programming skills. However, the quality of the results can vary significantly depending on how prompts are written and which AI model is used.

To help participants overcome this challenge, Professor Ohzeki developed a special support application for this workshop.

With this application, participants could break down and describe their ideas step by step. Based on their input, the application could automatically suggest mathematical formulations for quantum solutions and generate corresponding code.

By using this tool, we were able to lower one of the biggest initial barriers — turning an idea into a mathematical formulation. This allowed participants to spend more time understanding their problems, exploring additional factors, and improving the quality of their solutions.

You can see how the participants used the application in the Day 3 section!

Day 2 had a very different format from the lectures and hands-on sessions of the previous day.

Participants formed six teams, each supported by a TA, and started by exploring problems they wanted to solve, especially challenges connected to Singapore or everyday life.

By the afternoon, the teams were already building problem formulations and implementations with the support application.

With only one day left before the final presentations, the room quickly became more focused. Teams divided tasks, refined their ideas with the TA, and some even continued working on Discord after the official session ended.

Day 2: Participants discussing topics, developing formulations, and coding in their groups

On Day 3, the morning was dedicated to final computations, analysis, and preparation for the afternoon presentations.

The groups worked to summarize their problem settings, ideas, mathematical formulations, and implementation results in their presentation slides. With only a few hours remaining before the presentations, discussions continued right up to the deadline:

• Which parts should we improve further?
• What should we focus on in a ten-minute presentation?

The final project topics included:

• Team-Q : Optimizing Officer Assignment and Counter Configuration Under Uncertain Demand
• Team-QuBot : Optimizing Rescue Robots' Search Coverage for Earthquakes
• Qlueless : Optimizing Cai Fan Selection with QAOA
• Superposition Syndicate : Santa's Knapsack -Tariff-constrained 0–1 knapsack, solved with VQE-
• n109 : STUDY PLANNING SCHEDULER

The projects covered a remarkably wide range of topics.

For example, Team-Q explored checkpoint staffing between Singapore and Malaysia, combining QAE for uncertain demand estimation with quantum annealing for counter and officer assignment.
This topic turned out to be an interesting study that took advantage of the unique strengths of both gate and annealing—features specific to this particular event.

Qlueless focused on optimizing Cai Png dish selection, while Team-QuBot tackled rescue robot search optimization for disaster-response scenarios.

Despite having only Day 2 and the morning of Day 3, each team turned its initial idea into a concrete formulation and implementation. With support from the TA, participants divided responsibilities, refined their models, and prepared their final presentations.

It was especially impressive to see how much their understanding had developed over the three days and how seriously they asked one key question:

How can we use quantum computing to address this problem?

The workshop concluded with remarks from Professor Lau and Professor Ohzeki, who expressed their hopes for continued research exchange and collaboration between Singapore and Japan.

The workshop ended with a strong sense that these ideas and connections could continue well beyond the three days.

The workshop brought together a wide range of participants, from beginners who were unfamiliar with technologies such as gate-based quantum computing and quantum annealing to researchers already working professionally in the field. In Team-Q, which I supported, participants with data science backgrounds explored how knowledge from quantum information science could be incorporated into their own research. Many other participants also showed interest in our activities. In that sense, I believe the workshop was meaningful not only for learning quantum computing but also for broadening the community and creating new connections in the field of quantum information.

Mizuki Muto, Department of Electrical, Information and Physics Engineering, Tohoku University

The main theme of this workshop was to explore how real-world problems could be addressed using quantum annealing and gate-based quantum computing. I believe it was a valuable learning experience for all participants to go through the entire process, from generating ideas to mathematical formulation and implementation. Although the group work was conducted within a limited amount of time, every team engaged in enthusiastic discussions and successfully turned unique ideas into concrete projects. It was also an extremely meaningful three days for me personally.

Takumi Okuyama, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University

During our preparations, we planned to cover not only quantum annealing but also gate-based quantum computing, and I was personally concerned about whether participants would be able to follow such a broad range of topics. Once the workshop began, however, participants of different ages and backgrounds actively worked on projects that connected quantum computing with their own areas of expertise. I was reminded that one of the strengths of QI4U is its ability to bring together people from diverse backgrounds through the common theme of quantum computing and encourage them to tackle new problems together.

Tomohisa Okada, Support Member

QI4U in Singapore marked our 8th country—and our 9th event overall! It turned out to be another truly exciting event.
Participants put their heads together to come up with a wide range of ideas, tackling the challenging question of how to formulate real-world problems so that they could be solved using quantum annealing and quantum computing. Although they struggled at times, it was clear that everyone persevered and saw their ideas through.
At first, some participants may have felt, “I don’t really understand quantum computing, and I have no idea how to use it.” But once they started working hands-on, they began to enjoy the process, and more and more ideas emerged. Then came the next challenge: there simply wasn’t enough time to implement everything they wanted to try. So how do you overcome that? Put AI to work!
It felt like a perfect example of what a modern-day hackathon can look like.
With QI4U, you never quite know what will happen. And that unpredictability is exactly what makes the event so fascinating. Once again, I was reminded of just how special QI4U can be.

Yuma Matsumoto, Completed the Master’s Program, Department of Physics, School of Science, Institute of Science Tokyo

The goal of this workshop was to encourage participants to explore how quantum computing could be applied to familiar topics and social challenges in Singapore, while also building lasting connections between Singapore and Japan in the field of quantum computing.

With this goal in mind, and with the support of Professor Lau, Xinwei Lee, and many others at SMU, this QI4U EXPO took on a new challenge by covering both quantum annealing and gate-based quantum computing.

The workshop became a valuable learning experience not only for the participants but also for the organizing team.

From an operational perspective, we were able to provide strong support to the participants thanks to team members who often took the initiative beyond what I could do as the event leader, as well as experienced senior members who supported us throughout the workshop.

I would once again like to thank Muto, Okuyama, and Fujiwara for preparing the hands-on sessions; Kanebako for coordinating many aspects of the event; andOkada and Matsumoto for continuously supporting us behind the scenes. Thank you very much.

For me personally, this workshop was also an opportunity to face my own challenges, learn from mistakes each day, and grow through the experience.

The next QI4U EXPO is planned to take place in the UK. I hope to pass on what we learned in Singapore to the next organizing team and help carry the QI4U experience forward.

Report prepared by: Takuma Yoshihara, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University

Workshop supported by: A*STAR and Singapore Management University (SMU)