教科文组织新报告:1/3科研人员无缘量子研究设施,制约量子潜能释放

《量子时刻：国际量子科学技术年成果全球报告》首次对2025年国际量子科学技术年进行了全面的全球评估。

报告参考83个国家注册的1300场量子科学活动数据（直接参与人数超过120万）及对81个国家590名专家的全球调查，并吸收美国物理学会等顶尖国际科学组织的贡献。

报告既记录了全球对量子科学的广泛关注，也揭示了大多数国家在有效参与量子时代方面所面临的深层障碍。

教科文组织欧洲和北美会员国举办的量子科学活动（如会议、研讨、讲座和编程马拉松）数量是非洲成员国的7倍。

近1/3科研人员报告称，其所在机构无法使用量子研究设施；全球2/3受访者将设备成本视为障碍。

截至2025年年中，全球对量子科学技术的公共和私人投资已达557亿美元，但仍有超过150个国家尚未出台任何形式的国家级量子战略。投资集中在少数经济体，这凸显了挑战的紧迫性。

报告还指出，量子相关领域存在持续的性别差距。虽然在量子科学活动中，女性约占早期职业参与者的42%，但随着职业发展，这一比例显著下降——在资深研究员中约为16%，在领导岗位中仅为12%。

为解决获取机会不平等问题，教科文组织发起全球量子倡议（GQI）。该框架面向政府、学术界、产业界和公民社会，旨在确保量子技术的开发具有包容性且合乎伦理，不让任何国家被排除在塑造量子未来的进程之外。

具体行动已经展开。依托教科文组织的“远程访问实验室设备倡议”，全球南方的研究人员已能够使用世界上第一台专用于医疗健康研究的量子计算机——位于美国克利夫兰的IBM量子系统1号（Quantum System One），开展与其本国直接相关的药物研发、疾病建模及其他工作。

全球量子倡议致力于复制和推广该计划的实用模式：消除基础设施障碍的方式，并非等待各国建立自己的量子设施，而是打开通向现有设施的门。

The Quantum Moment: A Global Report, Outcomes of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology presents the first comprehensive global assessment of the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ).

Drawing on data from 1,300 registered quantum science events across 83 countries with direct participation exceeding 1.2 million people, a global survey of 590 experts in 81 countries, and built on contributions from leading international scientific organizations such as the American Physical Society, the report documents both the scale of global interest in quantum science and the depth of the barriers that stand between most countries and meaningful participation in the quantum era.

UNESCO member states across Europe and North America concentrate seven times more quantum science events – such as conferences, workshops, seminars and hackathons – compared with those in Africa.

Nearly one in three researchers report that their institutions have no access to quantum research facilities, while equipment costs are cited as a barrier by two thirds of respondents globally.

More than 150 countries have yet to adopt any form of national quantum strategy, even as global public and private investment in quantum science and technology reached USD 55.7 billion as of mid-2025. The concentration of that investment in a small number of economies underscores the urgency of the challenge.

The report also points to a persistent gender gap in quantum-related fields.

While women represented approximately 42% of early-career participants in quantum science events, their share declines significantly along the career pathway, to around 16% at senior researcher level and just 12% in leadership positions.

To address this inequality of access, UNESCO launched the Global Quantum Initiative (GQI), a framework for governments, academia, industry and civil society to ensure quantum technologies are developed inclusively and ethically, ensuring no country is excluded from shaping the quantum future.

Concrete action is already underway. Under UNESCO's Remote Access to Lab Equipment Initiative, researchers from the Global South can now access the world's first quantum computer dedicated to healthcare research (IBM Quantum System One in Cleveland, USA) to work on drug discovery, disease modelling and other challenges directly relevant to their countries.

The programme illustrates a practical model the GQI aims to replicate and scale: removing the infrastructure barrier not by waiting for every country to build its own quantum facility, but by opening doors to existing ones.