Prof. Soulla Louca
Digitalization is vital in transforming our society and economy. The pandemic this year has forced several industries to rapidly take steps towards a digital transformation, entering the era of convergence where the integration of social, business and political advances are forcing companies to enter “an unknown zone”. As a consequence, new and emerging opportunities for organizations in all sectors to create and deliver fascinating services for their customers using the power of disruptive innovation are evolving continuously.
Blockchain technology seems to be the driving force of this convergence, and as a consequence the demand for blockchain talent grows continuously. When integrated with other technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and big data, the realization of even more compelling and dynamic applications seems to become a reality, provided we circumvent the talent challenge. In the most recent LinkedIn report, it is revealed that blockchain skills are actually the number one most in-demand skills in 2020.
Blockchains represent one of the most disruptive technological innovations of the last twenty years. With applications in industries such as financial services, energy, the supply chain sectors, tourism and energy, they are paving the way to groundbreaking research, technology development and disruptive innovation.
According to a report by openaccessgoverment.org, the importance of blockchain technology has now been recognized by many universities across the globe. 40% of the world’s top 50 universities are offering at least 1 blockchain related course. Some universities have gone several steps beyond that by offering academic degrees such as the University of Nicosia which started offering an academic degree in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies back in 2014. At the same time, the European Commission through H2020 and the Erasmus+ program is pushing forward such training as the DLT4ALL project – “A Knowledge Alliance for Blockchain in Academic, Entrepreneurial and Investment Training”.
DLT4ALL is addressing the lack of European entrepreneurs, students, angel-investors and incubator managers in understanding and exploiting Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies. This is done through the co-creation of a blockchain related curriculum among its eight partners in order to facilitate digital disruption based on the disintermediating power and transparency of the technology, igniting the modernization of participating HEIs’ curricula, commercial business models and early-stage investing practices within and beyond DLT4All participants. The 9 modules on blockchain technologies that have been prepared within the framework of the project include Peer-to-peer Database Design, Encryption Techniques, Consensus Mechanisms, Digital Signatures, Smart Contracts, Privacy and Property Rights, Blockchain-based Decentralized Applications, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations along with a horizontal introductory module on blockchain to avoid overlaps within the rest of the modules. Training begins in January 2021 through April 2021.
Stay tuned with us for further information and knowledge dissemination on blockchains!