What started as a means to send money from person A to person B, as designed by the still unknown Satoshi Nakamoto, has quickly become the hottest technology since the invention of the internet.
What used to be the darling of underground cryptonerds has been embraced by some of the biggest companies in the world.
Ok, so blockchain technology is a fascinating topic to look into. However, why must a university dedicate its time and resources to teaching it?
There are three reasons for that:
#1 To Get an Edge
Blockchain technology is still in its infancy. The fact that it is getting adopted by the mainstream at such a rapid rate is a testament to its potential. However, this presents the universities with a unique opportunity to become first-comers in the blockchain education field.
Universities have the chance to get their names associated with ”’blockchain’ the same way Harvard has gotten associated with ”’law’ and MIT with ”’engineering.’ Positioning oneself to be the dominant player in a space is something that any university would want to do.
#2 Upcoming Interoperability
We are on the verge of entering the era of third-generation blockchains. Blockchains like Cardano, ICON, AION identify as the third generation. One of their most fundamental goals is achieving interoperability.
What is interoperability? In layman’s terms, it will enable interaction among various blockchains AND legacy companies.
That sounds pretty cool, but what does that have to do with universities?
Interoperability will enable more and more companies to incorporate and interact with blockchain companies. As such, they will be looking to hire people who have some basic blockchain knowledge.
As institutes that teach skills to future employees to thrive in their space, it is their duty to give their students an edge over their competitors. One of the ways that they can do so is by training them in skills that they would require in the future. ”’Blockchain Technology’ definitely qualifies as one of these skills.
#3 Surge of Jobs
There is no other way of putting it. ”’Blockchain Technology’ is an extremely hot sector in the job market right now. Tony Zerucha at Bankless Times does an analysis of the surge of blockchain and bitcoin-related jobs on the job portal Indeed’s website.
This is what they found: Since November 2015 Indeed has seen a 1065% growth in searches for jobs mentioning ”’blockchain,’ ”’bitcoin’ or cryptocurrency on the companys job search site.
Indeed is not the only website that is seeing this trend. In fact, LinkedIn, the popular business social network, has seen the number of blockchain-related postings nearly triple in 2017.
Scott Bittle of Burning Glass Technologies, a job-data analytics firm that found a 115% increase from 2017 in postings for blockchain developers, notes:
Because of its connection with cryptocurrencies,’ blockchain is associated with finance; and major banks like Liberty Mutual, Capital One, and Bank of America have posted openings. But the demand for blockchain is much broader,’ he notes, ”’including major consulting firms like Accenture and Deloitte and technology companies like IBM and SAP. This is additional evidence that the business world is starting to take blockchain seriously.
Since there is such an obvious demand for blockchain jobs, it is their duty to teach the skill to their students.
How can universities approach this?
There are two ways that blockchain technology can be added to a universitys curriculum. One is via partnerships, and the other via certifications.
Via Partnerships
One approach to do this is what The University of Edinburgh is doing with IOHK, the company behind Cardano development.
IOHK Co-Founder, Jeremy Wood says about the partnership:
IOHK’s partnership with the University of Edinburgh provides unique opportunities for current students to become the next generation of blockchain and cryptography leaders. As a headquarters for IOHK’s international academic research community, we expect to see the university facilitate innovative projects that drive how businesses and governments approach blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
Via Certification
Getting a partnership with a reputable blockchain company can present a challenge for universities that are not as well known as Edinburgh. So, a simple and straightforward way that they can give out blockchain courses is via certification.
Now, you might be wondering why certification instead of full-blown degree courses?
There are plenty of advantages that certification has over degrees:
- Shorter: An average certification course may last from anywhere around 6 months to 2 years. In some cases, it can be even shorter than that. A degree on the other hand will last a minimum of 2 years.
- Easily available: Most certifications are easily available online and can be done at your own time, pace, and location. However, degrees may require you to join classes, and follow the universities schedule.
- More focused: Certifications are more subject-centric than degrees. Eg. if you are doing a certification in C++ programming then you are just going to learn C++. However, if you are doing a degree on Computer Science then you may even need to take up Environmental Studies or Mathematics for a semester.
- Cheaper: Obviously since certifications last for a shorter time, they are a lot cheaper than degrees.
- Less age restrictive: Usually college going students or people in their late teens to mid 20’s opt for degrees. However, people from all walks of life and age groups apply for certification because of the flexibility it provides schedule and location-wise.
According to The Washington Post, the number of people who hold post-baccalaureate certificates has increased significantly. Here are some of the numbers:
- Nearly 51,000 people earned the credential in 2010, a 46 percent increase in five years.
- For men, having certification adds 25% to their income.
- For women, it is a 13% addition to their income, but that’s mostly because they are in less technical fields.
- According to research from Georgetown Universitys Center on Education and the Workforce, about 3 percent of the workforce i.e. 4 million workers have certificates.
