Metrosert invites Estonian companies and students, researchers and professionals from the Nordic and Baltic countries to apply for QEst Hack 2026, taking place in Tallinn on 11–13 November.
Five companies will be selected for the second QEst Hack, each bringing a complex business problem and its own data. They will be joined by individual participants and quantum experts from Estonia, Finland and Canada to explore whether quantum algorithms could eventually offer a better way to solve the problem.
Why start experimenting now?
Quantum computing is no longer merely a technology of the distant future. According to the McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor 2026, more than 300 companies worldwide are already exploring its potential applications. One-third of the companies analysed for the report invested more than $10 million in quantum initiatives in 2025, primarily in developing use cases, integrating quantum solutions with existing systems and building in-house expertise.
“Two and a half days will not produce a ready-made quantum solution. However, a company will gain an initial practical understanding of whether it makes sense to test quantum algorithms on its business problem and what further experimentation would require. For students and other interested participants, the hackathon offers an opportunity to develop their programming skills, learn the principles of quantum computing and test quantum algorithms using a real company problem and dataset under the guidance of experts from Estonia, Finland and Canada,” said Kalev Kaarna, Metrosert’s Business Development Manager.
During the first part of the hackathon, all participants will receive an introduction to quantum computing and work on a shared optimisation challenge. Teams will then be formed around the participating companies, bringing together company specialists, students, researchers and other individual participants. With support from mentors from Canada, Finland and Estonia, each team will experiment with a real company problem using a small-scale dataset.
Who should apply?
QEst Hack welcomes Estonian companies with a complex optimisation or simulation problem that is currently expensive or time-consuming to solve and where a 1% improvement in accuracy or a 20% increase in speed would provide a significant business advantage. Potential problems may involve logistics and route planning, energy-grid balancing, production planning, financial portfolios, material properties or drug development.
Each company team must include two IT or data specialists proficient in Python and one business development representative.
Individual applicants may include students, recent graduates, researchers, quantum enthusiasts and other professionals from the Nordic and Baltic countries who want to work with a real company problem and dataset. Python programming skills are required. Previous exposure to quantum computing or quantum programming is an advantage but not mandatory.
“One of the strengths highlighted by last year’s participants was that QEst Hack did not have the intense competitive atmosphere often associated with traditional hackathons. They described it as a relaxed, collaborative and learning-focused experience. We want to preserve that this year: company representatives, students and mentors work towards a shared goal rather than against one another. The teams will nevertheless present their results at the end of the hackathon, and a jury will select the winner,” Kalev Kaarna said.
Key dates
- Online information session: 29 September, 15:00–15:30
- Application deadline: 11 October
- Online kick-off: 22 October
- QEst Hack 2026 in Tallinn: 11–13 November
Separate application forms are available for companies, individual participants and mentors.
Further information is available on the QEst Hack 2026 website.
Participation in the hackathon is free of charge. The working language is English.
QEst Hack 2026 is organised by Metrosert, the Estonian Applied Research Centre and National Metrology Institute, in collaboration with IBM, the City of Sherbrooke in Canada and the Institut quantique at the Université de Sherbrooke, with support from the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.