Sandbox AQ scholarship students represent Trinity at NYU-Abu Dhabi Hackathon

Posted on: 19 May 2025

The event brought together more than 200 students and 50 mentors from all over the world to collaboratively explore how quantum computing can drive solutions for global challenges and accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Taking place during the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), the hackathon showcased an opportunity to highlight the transformative potential of quantum technology.

Gaurang Belekar with Oliver Knitter from Sandbox AQ and Sara Taha.

In the lead-up, participants took part in a virtual training programme covering the fundamentals of quantum computing, delivered by experts from QWorld and NYUAD. Over three days, 17 teams of students worked together to develop ideas for how quantum computing could be harnessed to address real-world challenges, with ideas addressing issues in healthcare, climate action and sustainable energy.

Gaurang’s canQr project aimed to accurately predict binding energy between chemotherapy drugs and biological targets using Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) algorithms on quantum devices.

By systematically modifying molecular Hamiltonians and evaluating drug-target interactions, the platform seeks to optimise chemotherapy agents — enhancing their binding to cancer-specific DNA, while minimising interactions with healthy tissue markers. The ultimate goal is to design more selective and less toxic anti-cancer drugs.

The School of Physics is very grateful to Sandbox AQ for their donation this year that enabled our two scholarships for students from the Global South to join the MSc course, and which also supported their travel for this event.

In their words, “the hackathon was a truly valuable experience — not only was it fun, but there was also a great deal to learn, both from the keynote speakers and judges, as well as from fellow participants. It was inspiring to see the diversity of ideas and approaches throughout the event.”

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