How to learn quantum computing in Spanish

You can learn quantum computing in Spanish from zero to a working level without paying anything, using an open course from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, summer schools from UNAM and QMexico, and IBM’s free learning platform for practice. Past that point you will read English, because the documentation and the papers are in English. This guide is for Spanish-speaking engineers, students and managers, and for English-speaking team leads who need to train Spanish-speaking staff.

Every resource below was checked on 23 September 2026.

What should you know before starting?

Linear algebra and a little Python. Quantum computing is described with vectors and matrices, so if you are comfortable multiplying a matrix by a vector and working with complex numbers, you can follow any introductory course. You don’t need quantum physics first.

A good test: if you can explain what an eigenvector is and write a Python loop, start now. If not, spend two or three weeks on linear algebra, then come back. The QMexico summer school even includes a preparation workshop (QPrep) for exactly this gap, and its recordings are public.

Where can you learn quantum computing in Spanish for free?

Three Spanish-language options, plus IBM’s English platform for practice, cover most of what a beginner needs. They differ in format, so pick the one that fits your schedule.

Quantum Colombia at UNAL Medellín

This is the closest thing to a free university course in Spanish. The group, based in the physics department of Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Medellín, streams its classes and posts them on the Quantum Colombia YouTube channel. The course site says it is open to the Spanish-speaking community and carries slides, videos, code and exercises. A 2024 study of Colombia’s quantum ecosystem (arXiv 2409.00059) described the program as having about 55 faculty and students. If you live in Medellín, it is also the easiest way to meet people working on this.

QMexico and the QWorld workshops

QWorld is a global network that runs a standard sequence of workshops: QBronze for basics, QNickel for standard algorithms such as Deutsch-Jozsa and Simon and QSilver for topics like the quantum Fourier transform and Shor’s algorithm. The 2026 QMexico Summer School ran all of them in Spanish, for free, with a final optimization project. QWorld issued certificates to participants who scored at least 70 out of 100 per module. The 2026 recordings are enough to study on your own while you wait for the next edition.

UNAM’s Escuela de Cómputo Cuántico

UNAM’s school is aimed at students and academics in science and engineering. The 2026 edition covered Dirac notation, qubits on the Bloch sphere, gates and circuits, the Deutsch-Jozsa and Grover algorithms, teleportation and quantum machine learning, all with Python and Qiskit. The 2026 edition already took place, so treat it as next year’s option and watch its site for the call.

IBM Quantum Learning (in English)

IBM’s platform lists 15 courses as of September 2026, from “Basics of quantum information” to “Quantum business foundations” and “Designing and leading quantum projects”. It is in English, but the notebooks run the same whatever language you think in, and it is the natural next step after a Spanish course. If you want a credential, IBM’s Qiskit v2.X developer certification is a 90-minute, 68-question exam that costs up to US$200 depending on your country.

Which Spanish-speaking communities are active?

Communities matter more than courses once you pass the basics, because they are where you find study partners, hackathons and job leads.

• Quantum Colombia (UNAL Medellín) is active in 2026, with regular live classes.
• QMexico and Qubit.mx are active in 2026 and ran the summer school above.
• QColombia is a non-profit QWorld branch that promotes quantum technologies in Colombia. Its QWorld page lists members and social media, but the last dated event there is from 2022, so check its Instagram before counting on it.
• Qiskit Fall Fest is IBM’s series of student-led events on university campuses, running in October and November 2026 with the theme “a decade of quantum on the cloud”. Latin American campuses have hosted editions before, including Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2024 and CIICAp in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 2025. IBM said the 2026 roster would be published in September, so look for a campus near you on IBM’s Fall Fest page, or propose one next year.

Which universities teach quantum computing in Spanish?

If you want a degree or a paid program with structure, these are real, current options:

• UNIR (Spain, online) offers a Máster Universitario en Computación Cuántica: 60 ECTS credits, about one year, fully online, with the next intake listed for November 2026. It is sold as a maestría in Colombia and a magíster in Chile.
• Universidad Anáhuac Mayab (Mexico, online) runs a Diplomado en Computación Cuántica: 96 hours over four months, Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, with a module on post-quantum cybersecurity. The 2026 cohort started on 16 January.
• Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá) uses Quipu, a 2-qubit teaching machine based on nuclear magnetic resonance announced in November 2024 as Colombia’s first quantum computer, in its courses. It is an option for enrolled students rather than for outside learners.

For the bigger picture of who funds research in the region, see our articles on quantum computing in Colombia and on Latin America’s national quantum strategies.

A 12-week plan that uses only these resources

If you have five to six hours a week, this sequence gets you from zero to writing your own circuits:

1. Weeks 1 to 2. Linear algebra refresh with complex numbers. Watch the QPrep sessions from QMexico.
2. Weeks 3 to 6. Follow the Quantum Colombia course videos: qubits, gates, measurement, entanglement. Do every exercise in the notebooks.
3. Weeks 7 to 9. QBronze and QNickel recordings, then run Deutsch-Jozsa and Grover yourself in Qiskit.
4. Weeks 10 to 12. Open an IBM Quantum account, work through “Basics of quantum information”, and run one circuit on real hardware. Write a short post in Spanish explaining what you did. It is the best proof of learning you can show an employer.

If you want the concepts first, our plain-language guide to what quantum computing is is a good week-zero read.

What careers does learning quantum computing lead to?

Three paths are realistic for a Latin American professional in 2026, and only one of them needs a PhD.

Research and quantum algorithms

University groups (UNAL, Uniandes, UNAM, Univalle and others) and a small number of companies hire researchers. This path usually needs a master’s or doctorate and strong math. Remote work for companies in the United States or Europe is another route.

Quantum software and hybrid applications

Developers who know Qiskit plus a domain (optimization, chemistry, finance) can work on proofs of concept. The volume of these jobs is small and follows vendor funding cycles, so treat it as a skill to add to your profile, not a career to bet everything on today.

Post-quantum security

This is where demand is growing now, because it has deadlines. NIST published its first post-quantum standards in August 2024, the UK’s NCSC wants discovery and planning done by 2028, and the G7’s financial-sector roadmap suggests migrating critical systems around 2030 to 2032. Banks, governments and their suppliers across Latin America will need people who can run cryptographic inventories and migrations. You don’t need to be a physicist for this. You need security experience plus a working understanding of why a large quantum computer would break RSA.

The skills shortage is measurable. IBM Institute for Business Value data published on 3 June 2026 found that 71% of Latin American organizations name the lack of specialized skills as a major barrier to quantum adoption.

Training a team rather than yourself

If you lead a team and want your engineers or security staff to learn together, in Spanish or English, the free resources above work for motivated individuals but rarely for a whole department on a deadline. Our quantum training for teams builds a program around your systems, with a separate track for security staff who will handle the post-quantum cryptography migration and a short session for leadership on strategy and roadmap.