Fahan Native Leads Europe’s Drive to Build the Quantum Internet

An Inishowen man is now at the forefront of one of Europe’s most ambitious technology projects — training the experts who will build the continent’s future quantum internet.

John McLaughlin, originally from Fahan and a past pupil of St Mura's National School in Tooban and Scoil Mhuire in Buncrana, has been selected to coordinate QUESTING, a €4 million Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) doctoral network. 

Now living in Waterford and working as technical lead at the Walton Institute in South East Technological University (SETU), McLaughlin will oversee a major Europe-wide effort to train the next generation of quantum innovators.

The project brings together nine universities and 13 industry partners from across Europe, all working to address one of the continent's most pressing technology challenges.

QUESTING is the first doctoral network to take on the full lifecycle of distributed quantum networks. Over the next several years, it will train 15 fully funded PhD researchers, known as Q-System Innovators, who will gain rare interdisciplinary expertise spanning quantum technologies, advanced communications, computing, and even social sciences.

The work responds to an urgent talent shortage. Quantum networks have the potential to completely transform secure communications and distributed computing, but Europe needs a specialised workforce capable of designing and managing these cutting-edge systems.

John McLaughlin says the project puts Ireland firmly on the map at the heart of Europe’s quantum future. “From right here in the south east, QUESTING will help Europe build the first generation of ‘quantum internet’ experts. We’re training 15 PhD researchers who will learn not just the theory, but how to turn quantum ideas into real networks, real jobs, and real impact for Ireland and Europe.”

For Ireland, QUESTING represents a major step forward in quantum research capacity. As coordinator, Walton Institute will manage the entire consortium, enhancing its international profile and attracting top doctoral talent to the southeast region.

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Rather than treating quantum networks in isolation, QUESTING adopts a holistic approach that blends quantum physics, information engineering, complex systems, and even humanities disciplines to address ethical and social considerations. Researchers call this area the “fertile nexus” between classical and quantum computing — a space where major breakthroughs are expected in the decade ahead.

Applications for the 15 funded PhD positions are now open. For more information, contact Dr Indrakshi Dey, Principal Investigator of QUESTING at Walton Institute on Indrakshi.Dey@waltoninstitute.ie