Build and Run Real Quantum Circuits
This is a hands-on course for people who want to actually program quantum computers, not just understand them conceptually. Using open-source SDKs, you will build and run real quantum circuits, work with both simulators and real hardware, learn noise and error mitigation in practice, and develop the engineering habits that make quantum code maintainable. The course finishes with running your own circuit on real quantum hardware.
Course Outline
Module 1. Getting Started with Quantum SDKs
Setting up a quantum development environment. Open-source SDKs and frameworks. Your first quantum circuit. Running on a simulator. Understanding the quantum programming model.
Module 2. Core Algorithms in Practice
Implementing fundamental quantum algorithms. Building circuits for superposition, entanglement, and interference. Implementing Grover’s search and quantum Fourier transform. Understanding what works and what the limitations are.
Module 3. Simulators Versus Hardware
The difference between simulators and real quantum hardware. Accessing real quantum processors through the cloud. Understanding hardware constraints: connectivity, gate fidelity, and coherence time. Mapping circuits to real hardware topologies.
Module 4. Noise and Error Mitigation
Working with noisy quantum hardware. Error mitigation techniques in practice. Measurement error mitigation. Zero-noise extrapolation. Realistic expectations for current hardware results.
Module 5. Engineering Maintainable Quantum Code
Software engineering practices for quantum code. Circuit optimization and transpilation. Testing quantum programs. Building reusable quantum software components. Running your capstone circuit on real hardware.
Prerequisites
None unless otherwise noted. These courses are designed to be accessible to motivated professionals without a physics background.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you will receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion.
Who this course is for
Software developers, data scientists, and technical professionals who want hands-on experience programming quantum computers. Classical programming experience required (Python). No quantum physics or advanced math prerequisite.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Set up development environments for Qiskit, Cirq, and Amazon Braket
- Build and execute quantum circuits on simulators and real quantum hardware
- Implement fundamental algorithms (Deutsch-Jozsa, Grover’s search, Bernstein-Vazirani)
- Work with variational algorithms (simple VQE) and understand the hybrid quantum-classical loop
- Interpret results from real hardware (noise, errors, statistical analysis of measurement outcomes)
- Compare cloud platform capabilities and choose appropriate hardware for specific tasks
What you leave with
You leave with the course handbook, a PDF of the full material with the instructor notes written out in place of the slides’ bullet points, and a PDF copy of Quantum Systems Integration, included at no extra cost. The handbook is yours to keep. For most organizations, that shared reference is the clearest return on a training budget.
Enrollment includes 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Where this course fits
Working Python experience is required. No quantum physics or advanced mathematics background is needed, and Quantum Computing Fundamentals helps where the physics is unfamiliar. Building and Operating Quantum Computers for the hardware underneath, and CQSI Systems Integrator Training for the credential.
Why we teach this
The material comes from Quantum Systems Integration, the reference text on quantum computing, networking, and sensing written by the course author, and from faculty who work with quantum engineering and integration teams. We teach what we have had to get right in the field. The course teaches the judgment calls, and leaves vendor roadmaps to the vendors.
About this program
Quantum Academy credentials are private professional credentials issued by Quantum Academy, a trade name of Post-Quantum Institute. They are not government-issued licenses, accredited degrees, or academic credit, and earning one does not guarantee employment, promotion, regulatory approval, or any other specific outcome.
Quantum Academy programs are educational and informational only, and are not legal, compliance, or engineering advice.