Vietnam hosts international quantum hackathon focused on agricultural applications
An international quantum computing hackathon opened in Gia Lai, Vietnam, bringing nearly 100 contestants from 26 teams across multiple countries to develop practical applications for agriculture, logistics, and related fields. The competition, organized by the People's Committee of Gia Lai province, the National Innovation Center, and the Vietnam Quantum Innovation and Technology Experts Network, runs from July 24 through July 28 at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education. It is described as the first international quantum computing hackathon hosted in Vietnam and forms part of the "Gia Lai Quantum Year 2026" initiative.
In the agriculture and logistics stream, teams are working on projects that include optimizing coffee and broader agricultural supply chains, distribution planning, transportation routing, aquaculture support, and energy efficiency. The organizing committee received more than 500 applications from 30 countries and territories before narrowing them to the 26 finalist teams. Contestants include students, graduate students, young researchers, startup members, and technology talents, supported by approximately 50 experts, mentors, and judges from domestic and international backgrounds.
UK quantum access programme targets rare blood disorder diagnostics
The UK's Digital Catapult and the National Quantum Computing Centre have selected 11 organizations for the third cohort of the Quantum Technology Access Programme, including a healthcare project focused on thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare and life-threatening blood disorder. Health Innovation North West Coast, part of the UK's Health Innovation Network, will use access to ORCA Computing's PT-2 quantum computer to improve diagnostic modeling, treatment pathways, and outcome forecasting for patients with the condition.
QTAP, now in its third year, provides participants with a guided pathway to evaluate quantum optimization and quantum machine learning use cases. The programme will run until February 2027 and pairs Digital Catapult's industry engagement with the NQCC's expanding national quantum computing capability. Past participants have included Vodafone, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, the Port of Dover, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
Programme scope spans supply chains, logistics, and adjacent industrial sectors
The latest cohorts broaden quantum exploration into sectors adjacent to core agricultural and medical work. The UK programme will also trial use cases across defence and security, supply chains and logistics, transport and infrastructure, and, for the first time, financial services, where NatWest will explore fraud and illicit activity detection across large transaction networks. The Vietnamese hackathon spans additional application areas including economics and technology, environment and energy, and society and human development, with some teams pursuing specialized directions such as distributed quantum computing architecture, quantum photonic machine learning, and post-quantum security platforms for industrial control systems.
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