We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the International Workshop on Quantum Software Engineering: The Next Evolution (QSE-NE), co-located with the ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE) 2024.

Aim

This workshop to provide a venue to discuss novel Quantum-specific software engineering tools, processes, techniques, frameworks, models, and best practices. This workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to present research work to ensure the quality of QSE lifecycle activities and improve overall productivity.

Scope

As the era of quantum computing dawns, industry leaders such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft are pioneering the field. However, a significant challenge remains: transforming exciting quantum possibilities into practical, real-world application. This is where Quantum Software Engineering (QSE) becomes essential that is central to our workshop titled 'Quantum Software Engineering: The Next Evolution.'

This workshop is dedicated to steering the evolution of QSE. It serves as a platform to illuminate the most recent developments in the field and to facilitate an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas. Participants will range from academic scholars to industry experts from globally recognized technology firms.

The workshop objectives are twofold: firstly, to present and disseminate novel methods, tools, and research findings in the domain of QSE; secondly, to confront and devise solutions for the intricate challenges inherent in the development of quantum software. This event is a cornerstone in charting the trajectory for future software development endeavors, marking a critical phase in the technological landscape.

Important Dates

• 10th  April. 2024 - Paper submission close
• 30th  April. 2024 - Authors notification
• 17th May. 2024 - Camera-ready
• 15th  July. 2024 - Workshop takes place

Submission Guidelines

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The following paper categories are welcome:

• Research Track (up to 10 pages): This track is defined for papers that conducted original research. Submissions should focus on innovative methodologies, tools, datasets, or studies that are closely aligned with the themes of the workshop.
• Ideas, Visions, and Reflections Track (up to 4 pages): This track is defined for the submissions that propose radical and innovative ideas, pioneering research directions, or provide insightful reflections and lessons from past experiences.
• Industry Track (up to 4 pages): This track calls for papers that focus on practical industrial challenges and experiences. Submissions should focus on real-world problems, practical insights, and lessons learned from industrial practices.

Authors are invited to submit original unpublished research papers as well as industrial practice papers. Simultaneous submissions to other conferences are not permitted. At least one author of the accepted papers has to register for the workshop to have their papers appear in the FSE companion proceedings. Submissions must be in PDF format at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=qsene2024

List of Topics

Topics of interest for the workshop cover the entire cycle of quan- tum software engineering, which includes (but is not limited to) the following themes:

• State-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in quantum software development
• Hybrid (quantum+classical) software engineering
• Quantum software programming
• Scaling from classical to quantum software engineering
• Literature reviews on quantum software engineering
• Case studies, surveys, observational studies, Delphi studies, and field studies on quantum software engineering
• Evaluation and quality aspect of a software process for quantum computing systems
• Best practices and lessons learned in the quantum software development process
• Software design and architecture
• Validation and simulation
• Industrial findings and experience reports of developing quantum software
• Prototypes and tool support for quantum software engineering activities
• Ethics in quantum software engineering process and design

Committees

Workshop Chairs

• Arif Ali Khan M3S Empirical Software Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland, arif.khan@oulu.fi
• Muhammad Azeem Akbar, Software Engineering Department, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland, azeem.akbar@lut.fi
• Peng Liang, School of Computer Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China, liangp@whu.edu.cn

Organizing committee (tentative)

• Mario Piattini (University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain)
• Shaukat Ali (Simula Research Lab, Norway)
• Benjamin Weder (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Architecture of Application Systems (IAAS), Germany)
• Jianjun Zhao (Kyushu University, Japan)
• Mahdi Fahmideh (University of Southern Queensland, Queensland, Australia)
• Shahid Hussain (Penn State University, Behrend, USA)
• Wen-Li Wang (Penn State University, Behrend, USA)
• Mehmood Niazi (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia)
• Valtteri Lahtinen (Quanscient Tampere, Finland)
• Peng Liang (Wuhan University, China)
• Jie Zhao (Penn State University, Behrend, USA)
• Javed Ali Khan (University of Hertfordshire, UK)
• Matteo Esposito (University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy)
• Arif Ali Khan (University of Oulu, Finland)
• Muhammad Azeem Akbar (LUT University, Finland)

Venue

The conference will be co-located with the ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE) 2024 on the 16th July 2024 Porto de Galinhas, Brazil

Links

• Workshop webpage: QSE-NE Workshop
• FSE 2024: Conference Details

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to Prof. Arif Ali Khan (arif.khan@oulu.fi)