Agile Transition to Quantum-Safe communication
Imran Khan
MD of KEEQuant
Imran Khan is the Managing Director of KEEQuant GmbH, based in Fürth, Germany. KEEQuant focuses on the commercialisation of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), Key Management Systems (KMS), and the hybrid application of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). By miniaturising the technology onto photonic chips, alongside certification and regulatory approval, KEEQuant aims to make quantum security solutions scalable and future-proof.
He studied quantum physics at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and spent over a decade at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, where he was deeply involved in researching QKD technologies. With numerous scientific publications and a leading role in European projects like OPENQKD, CiViQ, and QCI4EU, he has made significant contributions to the field.
Imran Khan is also active in various standardisation committees and is the founder of the German Industrial Alliance for Quantum Security (DIVQSec), where he currently serves as one of its two spokespeople.
Next-Gen Quantum Networks Enabled by Deterministic Quantum Light Sources
Tobias Heindel
Institute for Solid State Physics, Technische Universität Berli
Tobias Heindel is head of the group Quantum Communication Systems affiliated with the Institute of Solid State Physics at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. Dr. Heindel received his PhD from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany, in 2014. He had several research visits at renowned national and international research institutes, including the Ludwigs-Maximilians-University Munich and the Technion in Haifa, Israel.
Dr. Heindel’s present research focuses on topics at the intersection of the fields of solid-state quantum optics and quantum information with the aim to realize building blocks for quantum communication and future distributed quantum networks. He authored or co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, three book chapters, and one patent (h-index 37). He received a ”Quantum Future” Junior Research Group Grant (3.1 M€ budget) form the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in 2018 and the Karl-Scheel-Prize of the Physical Society in Berlin in 2020. He is initiator and organizer of the open-science and outreach project ”QuanTour – A quantum emitter’s journey through Europe”, which combines open science with science communication under the umbrella of the German Physical Society (DPG).
