Introduction to Quantum Computing with Qiskit (openHPI / IBM Quantum)

A concise, practical introduction to quantum computing through the Qiskit framework, developed by the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in collaboration with IBM Quantum. The course is available for free on the openHPI platform and is self-paced, letting you work through it on your own schedule.

The two-week structure is tight and practical: the first week covers the tools and fundamentals needed to run quantum experiments, and the second week puts everything together by implementing two foundational quantum algorithms in Qiskit.

What you’ll learn

• The IBM Quantum ecosystem: IBM Quantum Platform, available hardware and simulators, how to create a free account, and how to submit jobs through the cloud
• Qiskit fundamentals: the QuantumCircuit class, adding gates and measurements, running circuits on the Aer simulator, and visualising results
• Quantum computing foundations review: superposition, measurement, quantum gates (H, X, CNOT, and multi-qubit gates), and the circuit model
• Simulators vs. real hardware: what simulators can and cannot tell you, how to access real IBM quantum devices, and what to expect from hardware results
• The Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm: the problem it solves (determining whether a function is constant or balanced), why a classical computer requires exponentially more queries, and the complete Qiskit implementation
• Grover’s algorithm: the unstructured search problem, the oracle and diffusion operator construction, the O(sqrt(N)) query advantage, and implementation in Qiskit for a simple search problem

Course structure

Week 1 introduces the IBM Quantum platform, the Qiskit SDK, and quantum computing fundamentals, covering the tools and background needed to write and run circuits.

Week 2 implements the Deutsch-Jozsa and Grover’s algorithms, walking through the construction of oracles, the algorithm circuits, and verification of the results.

Graded assignments are available throughout, and a Record of Achievement is awarded to learners who score at least 50% across all graded exercises.

Who is this for?

• Developers and students who want a practical, code-first introduction to quantum computing using IBM’s Qiskit framework
• Learners who understand quantum computing basics conceptually and want to get hands-on with real code and real hardware
• Anyone who wants to implement their first quantum algorithms beyond toy examples
• Python programmers curious about quantum computing who want to learn through doing

Prerequisites

Python programming experience is required: you need to be comfortable reading and writing Python code and using libraries. Basic familiarity with quantum computing concepts (qubits, gates, circuits) is helpful but not required, as the first week covers the necessary background. Complex numbers and basic linear algebra will be encountered but are explained as needed.

Hands-on practice

All exercises use Qiskit and can be run against IBM Quantum simulators or real hardware:

• Write your first quantum circuit in Qiskit and run it on the Aer simulator
• Access the IBM Quantum cloud platform and submit a circuit to real hardware
• Implement a quantum oracle for the Deutsch-Jozsa problem and verify its behaviour
• Build the complete Deutsch-Jozsa circuit and confirm the quantum speedup
• Implement Grover’s oracle and diffusion operator for a simple search problem
• Run Grover’s algorithm and observe the quadratic speedup in query count

Why take this course?

The course hits a practical sweet spot: it is short enough to complete in a weekend, focused enough to leave you with concrete skills, and rigorous enough to actually implement real quantum algorithms in code. By the end you have run circuits on IBM quantum hardware and implemented two algorithms that demonstrate genuine quantum speedups.

The collaboration between HPI and IBM Quantum means the course content is current and technically accurate. The openHPI platform is well-maintained and the course materials remain available after completion, making it a useful reference.