August 20, 2026
September 2026 is for quantum: IEEE Quantum Week 2026, IWQC, QRE, and beyond
It's official: quantum is taking over Toronto in September.
Both the PennyLane and Xanadu teams will be at IEEE Quantum Week (of course) and hosting not one, not two, but three epic quantum events:
- unitaryCON (invite-only) 🧑💻
- The International Workshop on Quantum Compilation (IWQC) 🔗
- The International Workshop on Quantum Resource Estimation (QRE) ⚖️
To say we are excited would be an understatement.
IEEE QW is happening right in our backyard from September 13th-18th; check out our stacked list of speakers 👀
And now for the talks and when and where they are happening (PennyLane content highlighted in blue):
IEEE QW
| Type | Title | Date | Start Time | End Time | Room/Stage | Xanadu Speaker/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keynote | Scaling Photonic Quantum Computing | Monday, September 14th 2026 | 8:00 AM | 9:30 AM | Main Stage | Dr. Christian Weedbrook |
| Panel | Quantum at scale: Binational strategies for bridging the gap between academic research & commercial operation | Monday, September 14th 2026 | 3:00 PM | 4:30 PM | 801B | TBC |
| Tutorial | Preparing for Fault-Tolerant Applications by Programming with PennyLane | Monday, September 14th 2026 | 1:00 PM | 4:30 PM | 717A | Ben Lau, Daniel Nino, Catalina Albornoz |
| Tutorial | Practical Quantum Computing Education: A Hands-on Tutorial with PennyLane (QSEEC26) | Monday, September 14th 2026 | 1:30 PM | 2:30 PM | 604 | Daniel Nino and Ben Lau |
| BoF | Bridging the Gap between Compiler Developers and Scientists | Tuesday, September 15th 2026 | 1:00 PM | 2:30 PM | 801A | Catalina Albornoz, Josh Izaac |
| Workshop | Quantum Resource Estimation | Tuesday, September 15th 2026 | 10:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 714B | Jay Soni |
| Panel | From Research to Commercialization: Defining the Quantum Workforce for the Next Five Years | Tuesday, September 15th 2026 | 3:00 PM | 4:30 PM | 718A | Daniel Nino and Ben Lau |
| Panel | Quantum and Generative AI for Financial Services: From Innovation to Secure Adoption | Wednesday, September 16th 2026 | 1:00 PM | 2:30 PM | 801B | Stepan Fomichev |
| Workshop | Quantum Software 2.6: Current challenges and headways in quantum software | Thursday, September 17th, 2026 | 10:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 718B | Lee J. O'Riordan, Catalina Albornoz, Josh Izaac |
| Workshop | openQSE: Co-Designing the Quantum Software Stack from Applications to Control Systems | Thursday, September 17th, 2026 | 10:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 714A | Josh Izaac |
| BoF | From Quantum's role in industrial R&D: integrating quantum, HPC, and AI into end-to-end workflows | Friday, September 18th 2026 | 1:00 PM | 2:30 PM | 801B | Yanbing Zhou |
To keep up to date with any timetable changes, make sure to check the IEEE website and sign up for the event app. You can also use the IEEE event app to "star" sessions and receive notifications for those you want to attend.
Meet the Team
Come meet us IRL! We'll be hanging out at the inaugural IEEE QW Canadian Quantum Village (CQV) within the IEEE QW Exhibits 🍁—a space dedicated to fostering discovery and connection within Canada's quantum community. Come say hello, grab some swag, and meet the scientists behind our work.
During the break at our Preparing for Fault-Tolerant Applications by Programming with PennyLane, at 2:35 PM sharp on Monday September 14th in room 717A, we are snapping a group photo of all PennyLane users! If you've used PennyLane even once, yes, that is YOU. We are also handing out exclusive swag during this time, so don't miss out 📸
Register for IEEE Quantum Week.
QHack 2026
The fun doesn't end when the clock strikes October. The rumors are true: our highly anticipated event, QHack, is back! Mark your calendars for the QHack Coding Challenge Championship running from October 16th-23rd. Up for grabs this year is USD $67 GRAND worth of cash prizes 🤯
Stay connected before registration opens on August 24th and sign up for our QHack email list.
Learn More and Stay Connected
Want to learn more about IWQC and QRE? Head over to the Xanadu blog where you'll find more details.
Want first dibs on all the latest in open-source updates, events, demos, tech breakthroughs and community highlights? Sign up for our PennyLane newsletter.
This fall is going to be amazing.
Until next time 🫡
-The PennyLane team
About the author
Lara Watson
Lara is the Senior Marketing Lead at Xanadu. She is an experienced marketing and administrative professional that you may also find teaching a yoga class occasionally.