Recherche & Avenir Workshop "Teaching quantum in a business school? Not as surprising as you think"

At the Recherche et Avenir Quantum Workshop 2026, Lionel Martellini, Director of the EDHEC Quantum Institute, explains why quantum technologies should not remain confined to research labs, and why business schools have a key role to play in helping future leaders understand their impact on the economy and society.

Why create a Quantum Institute within a business school?

In a video recorded during the Recherche et Avenir Quantum Workshop 2026, Lionel Martellini explains why quantum technologies must be understood far beyond the scientific community.

During the Recherche et Avenir Quantum Workshop 2026, Lionel Martellini, Director of the EDHEC Quantum Institute, took part in the round table “Uses and Societal Impact”, moderated by Laurent Londeix from Recherche et Avenir, alongside Marina Teller from Université Côte d’Azur / 3iA and Olivier Alibart from INPHYNI, Université Côte d’Azur / CNRS.

During the discussion, he was asked a simple but essential question: why create a Quantum Institute within a business school?

His answer reflects one of the core convictions behind the EDHEC Quantum Institute. Quantum technologies are set to transform economies, industries and society as a whole. Their adoption will not depend solely on breakthroughs in physics, engineering or computing. It will also require a collective effort to identify, analyse and develop use cases across sectors.

For Lionel Martellini, quantum theory is not only a powerful scientific and technological framework. It is also an invitation to embrace complexity, question established ways of thinking and bring together diverse perspectives. This is precisely why quantum cannot remain confined to laboratories or to a small circle of experts.

As quantum technologies begin to shape debates around finance, cybersecurity, communication, healthcare, industry and education, future decision-makers will need to understand both their opportunities and their implications. Business schools therefore have a role to play in making quantum science accessible, actionable and relevant to organisations.

The creation of the EDHEC Quantum Institute embodies this ambition. It reflects the belief that the quantum revolution concerns the whole economy and society, and that understanding it will require dialogue between researchers, business leaders, policymakers, students and citizens.

In this sense, the very existence of a Quantum Institute within a business school is a statement in itself.