Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

Information security is at the core of information and communication technologies (ICT). Organizations around the world go to great lengths to ensure important information is secured and protected. As new technologies emerge - such as quantum information processing, which poses novel threats to information security - so too does the need to develop innovative strategies to guarantee data security. It is therefore increasingly important to develop cutting-edge tools and train the next generation of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) in the field. The proposed program, NSERC CREATE Training Program in Building a Workforce for the Cryptographic Infrastructure of the 21st Century (BWCI-21), will prepare this new generation of HQP to pioneer a new global infrastructure for quantum-resistant cryptography.Hosted by the University of Waterloo's Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research (CACR) and Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), and led by world-renowned researchers, the BWCI-21 training program includes integrated technical and professional components not currently available anywhere else.Through mentorship, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and partnerships with industry and government, this program will uniquely position Canada as the world's ""Quantum Valley"" - the epicentre of quantum technologies and the cryptographic infrastructure that will ensure information security in the quantum age.