We are constantly looking to make the contest more exciting and impactful for applicants and the contest finalists. This year we are excited to now offer finalists the opportunity to collaborate with members of the Harvard community to develop an idea introduced in their video into a demo or educational kit. This allows finalists to further grow their skills in science communication and bring Harvard quantum resources home to their communities. 

In past years, finalists have traveled to Harvard, but budget and visa constraints has limited the number of people who were able to benefit from the travel portion of the Quantum Shorts contest. We are hoping—logistics permitting—to invite finalists to visit Harvard’s cutting-edge quantum research facilities and help launch the kits they helped inspire. However, our goal with the kit model is to extend our—and your—impact beyond an in-person visit and to better serve finalists who may not be able to travel to Harvard. 

Yes! This year, we're allowing submissions from pairs of students. You do not need to have a partner to submit a video, but if you'd like to work with one other friend, feel free to do so! After all, collaboration is an extremely important component of research!

If you are working in pairs, each of you should submit the Submission Form, so you can complete the survey section individually. We include this survey every year to get a sense of who participates in our contest, their attitudes about physics, and other questions. This does not influence the video judging at all, but helps us to improve the contest each year. 

There are many great sources of information. We invite you to use the widget on our Get Inspired! page to discover important and interesting events in the history of quantum to help generate ideas on what to make your video about. 

Exploring the Nobel Prize in Physics website and Physical Review Letter's summary of historic papers can also give you an idea of exciting topics, just look for keywords connecting them to quantum (e.g. quantum, entanglement, quantized, qubit, spin, atoms, Bose-Einstein condensate, boson, fermion). Is there a concept used in multiple experiments you want to explore? Is there a technical breakthrough you want to explain in simpler terms? Is there an application that you'd like to learn more about? Once you decide what to make your video about, you can search the internet for more information.

Other blogs like Quantum Atlas, Quantum Frontiers, Science Exchange, and NIST's blog and are great sources of quantum-specific information for non-experts. Video content like YouTube videos and documentaries can also be very informative, just make sure that you trusts the sources; we like Quantum Sense, Minute Physics, and Veritasium to name a few.  

Many peer-review journals also have articles written by experts which summarize key results or research trends for general audiences. You can read about Physical Review publications in Physics Magazine's Viewpoints. 

While there is no need to read original scientific papers to make a successful video, if you are trying to access something and encounter a pay-wall, you may be able to find it for free on https://arxiv.org/. 

Make sure to cite your sources in the video description and in your submission form! 

There are a wide variety of topics in quantum! We invite you to use the widget on our Get Inspired! page to discover important and interesting events in the history of quantum to help generate ideas on what to make your video about. 

You could make a video offering a creative explanation about a fundamental concept, discussing exciting experimental results, or highlighting exiting technologies that make use of quantum properties. We accept a broad interpretation of what counts as 'quantum.' If you aren't sure, look for keywords like entanglement, quantized, qubit, spin, atoms, Bose-Einstein condensate. 

Be sure to keep your video within the time limit of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. We are evaluating your videos on clarity and creativity, looking for insightful and engaging explanations, and for a demo pitch that excites us. Make sure that instead of summarizing historical facts, you are explaining the key physics or concept. Consider showing a draft of your video to classmates, friends, or teachers and see if the concepts are clear to them. Additional nuance will make your video stand out. For example, can you explain where any classical metaphors you are using break down? What makes this concept quantum? 

You can view examples from previous years on the Past Finalists page. These do a great job showing creativity and clarity. Please note that since the demo development component is new this year, past years videos do not include a demo pitch and are shorter. 

We want your resource to be interactive in the sense that it gives users an active role in learning. Rather than simply reading an explanation or passively watching a video, users should be able to engage directly with the concept. This could take many forms, including a physical model or prop with movable parts, an audio-based analogy, a game, a coded widget, or another hands-on or participatory learning tool. These examples are only meant to illustrate the idea, and we encourage creative interpretations.

You do not need to have every detail worked out in advance. We are not expecting a finished design, complete construction plan, or fully developed code. Instead, we want to understand the core idea, how it connects to the quantum concept you chose, and why it would be effective as a learning tool. The strongest submissions will communicate a clear, compelling idea that feels both educationally meaningful and feasible to develop into a portable resource.

The blog team at Harvard is working hard to put together a team to help with the demo development. You do not need to have every detail worked out in advance during the pitch in the video, and selected finalists can expect the support of Harvard graduate and undergraduates to bring their idea to life. The role of each finalist is to provide an exciting idea in their video, and to test prototype versions of their kits and provide feedback to help refine them. Harvard will cover all expenses and logistics associated with making the kits.

Finalists should expect a modest time commitment following the contest. During the kit development period, from August through October, we anticipate meeting remotely with finalists on a few occasions to discuss their ideas and review progress. We expect this process to be collaborative and manageable alongside school-year responsibilities, while also allowing interested finalists to take on a larger role in the development process.

Yes! Please list your sources in the video description, and also on your submission form. We leave it up to you which citation style to use. Hyperlinks are acceptable in many cases. See our Citing Your Sources page for more details and tips.

We believe you can make great videos without use of artificial intelligence. The past finalist's videos offer examples of different creative, insightful approaches, some which show the participants, some which use illustrations, and others that use real live props. We have found the most compelling videos center the unique insights and personalities of the applicants. 

AI generated videos and voice over will be disqualified. We want to see your original ideas and creativity. 

You may choose to use AI for non-content related tasks, like formatting citations, finding sources in your research, but we encourage you to always be skeptical, use common sense, and fact check. 

If you use AI to 'vibe code' a specific idea you have, be very intentional and specific in your prompts and make sure to list what tools you used in your sources section. Be as specific as possible in your prompts. In the example video from 2024 on spins, blog contributor Haley used ChatGPT to help make animations by asking for python code for the specific animation of a vector rotating around another vector. Make sure that any use of AI allows your unique ideas and viewpoint to shine. 

Further question about AI use can be directed to hqi.blog@gmail.com.

No! You are welcome to appear in your video, but it is not required. Several of the finalist videos from previous years were animated or used props. 

No. You are not required to speak or voice-over your video, but we discourage you from using an AI generated voice. Instead, consider providing captions.