Introducing Quantum Information and Computation to a Broader Audience with MOOCs at OpenHPI

Introducing Quantum Information and Computation to a Broader Audience with MOOCs at OpenHPI | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Introducing Quantum Information and Computation to a Broader Audience with MOOCs at OpenHPI Gerhard Hellstern, Jörg Hettel, Bettina Just This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4237469/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 13 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in EPJ Quantum Technology → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Quantum computing is an exciting field with high disruptive potential, but very difficult to access. For this reason, numerous concepts are being developed worldwide on how quantum computing can be taught. This always raises questions about the didactic concept, the content actually taught, and how to measure the success of the teaching concept. In 2022 and 2023, the authors gave a total of nine two-week MOOCs (massive open online courses) with different possible learning paths on the Hasso Plattner Institute's OpenHPI platform. The platform's purpose is to make computer science education available to everyone free of charge. The nine quantum courses form a self-contained curriculum. A total of 17157 course attendances have been taken by 7413 natural persons, and the number is still rising. This paper presents the course concept and then evaluates the anonymized data on the background of the participants, their behavior in the courses, and their learning success. In the present paper for the first time such a large dataset of MOOC-based quantum computing education is analyzed. The summarized results are a heterogeneous personal background of the participants biased towards IT professionals, a majority following the didactic recommendations, and a high success rate, which is strongly correlatatd to following the didactic recommendations. The amount of data from such a large group of quantum computing learners offers numerous starting points for further research in the field of quantum computing education. Quantum computing quantum information quantum algorithms education MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) statistics participant’s behavior Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 13 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in EPJ Quantum Technology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 07 May, 2024 Reviews received at journal 28 Apr, 2024 Reviews received at journal 26 Apr, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Apr, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Apr, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Apr, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 16 Apr, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Apr, 2024 First submitted to journal 08 Apr, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4237469","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":289612278,"identity":"063ebec5-03e8-4048-b92c-3427ed264c4c","order_by":0,"name":"Gerhard Hellstern","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Cooperative State University of Baden-Württemberg (DHBW)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gerhard","middleName":"","lastName":"Hellstern","suffix":""},{"id":289612279,"identity":"5500fb7a-3f07-4626-817f-0137d97df78c","order_by":1,"name":"Jörg Hettel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jörg","middleName":"","lastName":"Hettel","suffix":""},{"id":289612280,"identity":"91f367fa-b9e9-4500-a730-8d85176aa746","order_by":2,"name":"Bettina Just","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAxCRAMSMDUDiAwMDDxgxsOHTwszYANXC2DgDpJ6NGC1QNmMzSDFBLebs/ccfPNxhx8A8I/35Y9ucOzIM8r1HNzCU2eDUYtlzmLEh8UwyA+OMHMPm3G3PgA7jS7vBcC4Nt8NuJAO1tDGDtDACtRwG+cXsBmPbYdxa7j8GaakHakl/2GyJ0PIfjy3MIC2HgVoSDJsZEVoO4PFLsuGMxLbjPIw9bwxn9gK1sLHlmN1IOJeMU4s5+8EHH3+2VcsZtqc/+PBz22F7fuYzZjc+lNnh1AIDPIYNUBY4RhIIagACeWIUjYJRMApGwcgEAMjgUmTLDTvCAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bettina","middleName":"","lastName":"Just","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-08 15:25:41","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4237469/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4237469/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-024-00270-w","type":"published","date":"2024-09-13T15:57:53+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":64619863,"identity":"4608b676-ffa9-4669-b700-77172bb4f113","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-16 16:17:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":873256,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"QuantumEducation04042024.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4237469/v1_covered_a154ee62-5865-4738-b9fc-73d33077a585.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Introducing Quantum Information and Computation to a Broader Audience with MOOCs at OpenHPI","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"epj-quantum-technology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"epjq","sideBox":"Learn more about [EPJ Quantum Technology](http://epjquantumtechnology.springeropen.com)","snPcode":"40507","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/40507/3","title":"EPJ Quantum Technology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Quantum computing, quantum information, quantum algorithms, education, MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), statistics, participant’s behavior","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4237469/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4237469/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\nQuantum computing is an exciting field with high disruptive potential, but very difficult to access. 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