Strathclyde PhD Graduate Spin-Out Success
Dr. Araceli Venegas-Gomez, a recent PhD Physics graduate, is on a mission to bring the benefits of Quantum Technologies to the wider world with the launch of the spin-out company QURECA Ltd. that aims to provide the link between the stakeholders in the quantum community.
Araceli was successful in securing the inaugural Milton and Rosalind Chang OSA Pivoting Fellowship in 2019. This unrestricted fellowship is awarded to talented young optical scientists and engineers whose expertise can be utilized to improve society beyond the bench. Araceli's focus is on advancing awareness and understanding of quantum technologies and policy. A key part of her mission as a Quantum Ambassador is the founding of QURECA (Quantum Resources & Careers), which the Royal Society described as the company that "fills the gaps in the existing quantum community, creating a society ready for quantum through a common language". The company serves to bridge the gap between fundamental advances in the lab and their translation to the wider world through professional services and business development. They recently announced the launch of the first online platform for training and recruitment in quantum technologies (https://www.qureca.com/qureca-launches-the-first-quantum-training-recruitment-platform/).
After years meeting peers around the world, Araceli came to the conclusion that PhD students and academics struggle to understand what their skills are and where these can be applied to support their career aspirations. This was the inspiration that led to the creation of QURECA, a company providing career coaching services to anyone looking for a job in quantum technologies. QURECA also supports businesses to identify and hire the needed expertise, by finding the best candidate pool.
Gaining an understanding of what quantum technologies actually mean, as well as the related positions that will be created in the different fields, is key for the people who will look for highly visible opportunities with these roles. Together with other expert partners, Araceli is developing a wide range of training programmes through the QURECA platform.
Araceli originally graduated in Aeronautical Engineering from the Polytechnical University, Madrid, Spain. After studying and working abroad, she spent 6 years in Germany working for Airbus, while completing a Postgraduate Masters in Medical Physics during her free time. She decided to follow her passion for science and Physics and come back to university after falling in love with quantum mechanics. She pursued a PhD in the field of quantum simulation at the University of Strathclyde under the supervisor of Prof. Andrew Daley in the Computational Nonlinear & Quantum Optics group (http://cnqo.phys.strath.ac.uk/) graduating in 2020.
Apart from being the founder and CEO of QURECA, Araceli was appointed an executive fellow at the University of Bristol Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre in 2020 and is the Coordinator of the International Graduate School for Quantum Technologies (https://igsqt.ac.uk/) where she will support the next generation of quantum scientists and engineers in Scotland.
When Araceli was working at Airbus, she could never imagine she would one day obtain a PhD in Quantum Physics and become both founder and CEO of her own company.
One’s career path is like a blank book, ready to be written.
July 2020