In this hands-on session, Robert Loredo—former head of the IBM Quantum Ambassador Program, CEO of Entangling Solutions Group and an excellent educator—guides you through the process of programming the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) using Qiskit and running it on a real IBM quantum computer.

In the webinar, our guest Noelle Ibrahim, PhD, Quantum Industry Leader at IBM, dives deep into one of the most practical and promising quantum use cases: portfolio optimization in finance. From explaining the core principles of superposition, entanglement, and interference to showing how they map directly onto financial decision-making, Noelle walks us through how quantum computers can evaluate risk, correlation, and uncertainty in entirely new ways.

In this webinar, we explore mid-circuit measurements in quantum computing and why they are essential for quantum error correction and fault-tolerant architectures. Using Qiskit, we walk through how quantum circuits are initialized, how single- and two-qubit gates affect quantum states, and how measurements introduce probabilistic outcomes. We then demonstrate how measurements can be performed during a circuit, and how ancilla qubits enable information to be extracted without directly destroying the data qubit. This talk is aimed at developers, students, and researchers who want a practical understanding of how mid-circuit measurements work in real quantum programs.

In this Qubits and Coffee webinar, Dr Alexandre Choquette, Algorithm Scientist at IBM, walks through one of the core near-term quantum algorithms: the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE). The session starts with the basic intuition behind ground states in quantum mechanics, then moves into a hands-on implementation. You’ll see how a molecular problem is mapped onto qubits, how a hybrid quantum–classical loop works, and how the algorithm converges toward the energy of a simple molecule. This is a practical introduction to how quantum algorithms are run on today’s hardware, with a live coding walkthrough you can follow and adapt. What you’ll learn:

• Why ground-state problems matter in chemistry and materials
• How the VQE algorithm works
• The role of hybrid quantum–classical optimization
• A step-by-step implementation using Qiskit
• Current strengths and limitations of near-term algorithms

In this Qubits & Coffee webinar, quantum researcher Dr Unnati Akhouri walks us through the building blocks of quantum computing using Python and Qiskit. You’ll learn:

• how quantum gates such as X, Hadamard and CNOT work,
• how entanglement is created,
• why SWAP operations are costly, and
• how neutral-atom quantum computers can reduce the number of operations needed to solve complex problems.

Along the way, Unnati demonstrates quantum circuits in Qiskit, explores qubit connectivity, introduces Rydberg blockade physics, and shows how neutral-atom architectures can offer powerful advantages for optimization and graph problems. Topics covered: quantum gates (X, Hadamard, RX and CNOT), Bell states and entanglement, SWAP gates and circuit costs, Qiskit programming examples, neutral-atom quantum computing, reconfigurable qubit architectures, Rydberg blockade, Maximum Independent Set optimization