Dr. Marta P. Estarellas is CEO of Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech , a Barcelona-based company founded in 2019 and specialized in full-stack quantum computing. The company is one of the most prominent cases of the Industrial Doctorate Plan , with nine projects developed in collaboration with universities and research centers such as the UB, the UPC, the UAB, the BSC and the IFAE.
In an emerging sector where specialized talent is scarce, Qilimanjaro has turned collaborative research into a strategy to train scientific and technological profiles within the company. In this interview, Estarellas explains how industrial doctorates contribute to accelerating innovation and connecting quantum research with industrial and social applications.
— Qilimanjaro is one of the companies with the most industrial doctorates. What is the added value of the program and why are you betting on it?
Marta Estarellas: The added value is immense. Quantum technologies are still emerging and require a lot of development, a lot of investment and many hours of R&D. This must always be done hand in hand with universities and research centers.
At Qilimanjaro, 95% of the workforce are physicists, engineers, chemists or mathematicians. Therefore, we have a very technical component that reflects the idiosyncrasy of a company like ours, but which also needs to make constant investments in innovation and research .
Doing it alone doesn’t make sense. We have to do it collaboratively with the entire research and investigation ecosystem: universities, infrastructures like the BSC and research centers like the IFCO. We have to go together to continue advancing technology. They do it at the university and we do it at the company, with the aim of developing a product that has an impact on society. It makes a lot of sense to be able to do it together, hand in hand.
Train specialized talent from within the company
— How does having industrial doctorates set you apart? What value does it bring you compared to the competition?
Marta Estarellas: The world of quantum computing is relatively new and we have a hard time finding talent . It’s hard because, until recently, there were no programs specifically dedicated to learning quantum technologies. Most of us learned about them because we did doctorates and followed a long academic career: bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, postgraduate. This journey has allowed us to acquire expertise in these technologies.
But it remains a very broad field, with little specialization. And what better way to acquire this talent than to generate it ourselves through universities? The industrial doctorate formula allows us to continue creating this specialization through the academic route, but within the company. This way we obtain professionals who have gone through this entire training itinerary, but who at the same time know very well the product, the objective and the path that we want to take, because they do it with us.
"The industrial doctorate allows us to generate specialized talent within the company"
Social and industrial impact of quantum computing
— Can you give us some examples of how quantum computing can contribute to responding to current or future social challenges, and what role industrial doctorates play in this?
Marta Estarellas: Quantum computing will have a future impact, once it reaches a specific state of maturity, in many areas of society. It can have an impact on industry, for example in the optimization of processes in the logistics or energy sectors. Also in the field of research, with new computing capabilities to perform more complex simulations, advance the development of new drugs, study new materials and better understand nature and the world around us. It can also offer society, which increasingly wants to be more digital, and we have seen this with the boom in artificial intelligence, a more sustainable computing resource. In other words, a way to continue scaling data processing capabilities without increasing energy consumption or resource consumption stratospherically.
All of these lines of impact are developed through research and, in all of these lines, we have industrial doctorates. Some are working to understand the impact of a quantum computer on reducing energy consumption; others are working on the design of the chips that will allow this infrastructure of the future to be created.
The industrial doctorate as a vehicle for collaboration
— In collaboration with academia and research organizations, what key factors allow for fluid communication and move the project forward?
Marta Estarellas: Precisely, having an industrial doctorate in the middle is the most efficient vehicle for collaboration between a university and a company. You can have common projects, which are also a way, but having a person who depends, in some way, on both parties is very relevant and very useful.
This facilitates a recurring, monthly or weekly communication flow to continue moving forward together on the project. I believe this is a fundamental key and one of the great advantages of the program.
Then, you need to find aligned projects and collaborations that make sense. It’s not about collaborating for the sake of collaborating, or having industrial doctorates for the sake of having them, but about creating a consortium and a structure that brings value from both sides.
Normally, this is the case, and this turning point allows for the generation of more projects. We have cases in which a first industrial doctorate has given rise to a second , which gives continuity to the research initiated by the first.
Publications, patents and scientific contribution
— How do you experience scientific publications from the company’s perspective? Do they bring added value to you or do you see them as a burden associated with collaboration with the university?
Marta Estarellas: Publications are fundamental for us. They are the way to validate the work done. On the one hand, we have publications and, on the other, patents. But there are many cases in which something does not make sense to patent or it simply cannot be done. Therefore, what we always do is publish it.
If it can be patented, it is patented first and then published. But all scientific production must be collected in a publication. Why? Because it is our way of contributing within the scientific ecosystem of quantum technologies. It is also necessary for our workers, because it allows them to demonstrate their scientific production. In the academic and scientific environment, publications are a way of demonstrating expertise; they are your cover letter.
Furthermore, they are important for the outside world, because they allow us to understand what we do, receive feedback from the rest of the community and identify possible new collaborations.
“There is very little specialization and what better way to acquire this talent than to generate it ourselves before universities.”
Internationalization and connection with the scientific ecosystem
— Internationalization is an important path within industrial doctorates. How do you experience it from the company’s perspective?
Marta Estarellas: I think it’s very important. As a doctor, I spent many years of my training abroad, in different countries, and I consider it very relevant to have this perspective of collaborating with other international research groups. They work differently and this greatly enriches the role of a scientist. Therefore, I think it is necessary to encourage this from the company as well. We must try to find vehicles, whether through conferences, temporary stays or research centers, so that people who are doing this training can have an experience as equivalent as possible to what they would have within the academic sector.
We place great importance on being able to attend technical conferences, present talks and posters, and fully connect with the community and the scientific ecosystem. At the same time, when we find a project that makes sense, we also believe that it is an opportunity for these people to travel and spend time at other research centers or even other companies.
A value formula for companies and PhD students
— Why would you recommend an industrial doctorate to another company or institution?
Marta Estarellas: Because it brings a lot of value. First of all, the person is training in what they want, within the scientific and technical field, and they do it by touching the technology they are developing with their hands. They see a purpose, a goal and a way out in the market.
There is also the issue of personalities. There are people who, when doing research, may have a difficulty or frustration: not seeing how it will end up having an impact on the market. In an industrial doctorate, this is clearly seen. Even if it is very far away, you always make progress towards the roadmap, the vision and the mission of the company.
Therefore, for the student it is very positive, because it gives them this perspective and this vision. And for the company it is also very positive because of what I have mentioned: you are generating talent specifically specialized in your technology , in what you do, hand in hand with the support of universities and the research ecosystem, and with people who are truly motivated to grow within this environment.
Ultimately, it’s a win-win for both parties.
