Building Europe’s quantum technology education community

In this article, we investigate the development of the European field of Quantum Technology education, by drawing on the framework of activity theory (AT), most frequently employed in the social sciences. Focusing on the QTEdu CSA, an impactful European project intended to unite stakeholders in QT education, we study the evolution of 11 pilot projects, cross-cutting education for members of the public, high schools, universities, and industry. The pilots are modelled as activities, drawing on data from 402 online profiles, 33 written reports, and 13 interviews conducted with pilot coordinators and members. Through identifying their elements in the language of activity theory, we examine the structure of the community, and the interactions between the individuals, which may have contributed to the development of QT education in Europe. To do so, we use activity theoretic concepts such as contradiction and expansive learning, offering a practical explanation for using AT to model communities, such that it may benefit future research studying community-based transformations in STEM education.