University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) was launched earlier in the year with an objective of promoting a greater understanding of digital payments, crypto and Blockchain in general.
In an interview by Ripple Insights that highlights research, people and institutions, Professor Cesare Fracassi who is the director of UBRI initiative at the centre for Analytics and Transformational Tech shared his thoughts on the initiative and its impact.
The professor wasn’t shy of revealing the initiative’s ultimate goal of leveraging UBRI and accelerating the comprehension of Blockchain among scholars. He hopes to achieve this by expanding its presence in his campus. By introducing an interdisciplinary approach to its study, he believes students will understand the field better and will be in a better position to innovate before graduation.
Campus-Best Place For Blockchain Exploration
Professor Fracassi is a veteran in teaching fintech (finance and technology) courses at the university and was also among the forerunners of the Blockchain initiative at the campus.
A growing interest by students in the Blockchain field and the founding of graduate Blockchain society together with increased participation in related coursework, Professor says, pedalled his interest in Blockchain.
The dynamic leadership of the school increased student engagement in related topics and existing Blockchain coursework was the perfect combination for further Blockchain exploration. This alone makes this environment ideal for UBRI’s growth.
Hype And Reality
The professor also showed some of his coursework to interviewers. He demonstrated the 3 main topics; Artificial intelligence and machine learning, The Internet of Things and Blockchain and their different stage of development.
His job, through UBRI, is to advance Blockchain beyond its current phase by helping students learn the technology and its potential when applied in the real world. By doing this, they can separate hype from reality.
Being academics provides an objective perspective from the rest of the world because they don’t have businesses at stake.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
According to Professor Cesare, the study of Blockchain provided learners with exposure to a variety of colleges. This is complemented by Blockchain’s multiple disciplines, from science to engineering, healthcare, identity and finance.
The professor advocated for the addition of funds through UBRI which would expand the number of students taking Blockchain related coursework. This fall alone, Blockchain was offered to students studying Computer Science, Business level analytics and MBA. He expects over 200 students in the coming semester.
The expansion of Blockchain related courses is set to be exciting at the same time challenging for the professor. Each group’s distinct interest and needs call for a different way of teaching, thus making the whole experience challenging. For example, professor Cesare says that as computer science students are focused on the technical and arithmetic codes, his business students are interested in where Blockchain are applicable.
A Hub For Research
The UBRI program is focused on promoting more research into Blockchain. They demonstrated this by giving Professor Fracassi the mandate to review proposals by students that would be suitable for funding. Professor’s short-term goal is to embed Blockchain within the university just like machine learning is.