As the crypto and blockchain industry continue to evolve, there’s also a growing demand for professionals who are trained and properly qualified to fulfill key roles in this emerging field of technology. To meet this requirement, there are now many centers of higher learning that offer comprehensive courses on cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Management Courses On Cryptocurrencies
Stanford University, a private California-based research-focused university, has been offering an increasing number of courses on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Kathryn Haun, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and former US Justice Department (DOJ) attorney, has taught a cryptocurrency management course at Stanford.
Haun is currently managing, or overseeing, many projects under a16z, which is Andreessen Horowitz’s cryptocurrency fund. The former federal prosecutor believes digital currencies have the potential to give “power back to the people.”
Although crypto industry professionals may have different views about cryptos and blockchain technology, academic courses on these subjects must be taught by professionals with industry experience.
Notably, Stanford’s management course on digital assets was also taught by Dr. Susan Athey, who has been working with Microsoft as a consulting economist for over 10 years. Athey is also a member of the board of directors at Expedia, Inc.
Course On Bitcoin
Balaji Srinivasan, the chief technical officer (CTO) of crypto exchange Coinbase, helped teach a course on Bitcoin (BTC) at Stanford. Blockchain industry professionals have not only contributed by teaching courses at the top-ranked university, but they have also invested in various crypto-related education programs.
The Switzerland-based Ethereum foundation and various other crypto firms helped fund and launch the Stanford Center for Blockchain Research (CBR) – which is a collaborative effort that “brings together engineering, law, and economics faculty, as well as post-docs, students, and visitors, to work on technical challenges in the field.”
UC Berkeley, New York University, MIT
University of California, Berkeley, a top-ranked research university, also offers DLT and applied cryptography-related courses such as “Blockchain, Cryptoeconomics, and the Future of Technology, Business and Law.”
As stated in the course description: “Blockchain is … one of the most interdisciplinary areas, bringing together new questions and opportunities at the intersection of technology, business and law.”
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the course’s instructors aim to help students “explore current and potential real-world applications” of blockchain in many different industries. As covered by CryptoGlobe, New York University (NYU) allows students to enroll in graduate-level specializations in cryptocurrencies.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offers some of the most technically in-depth courses on blockchain-based systems such as “Cryptocurrency Engineering and Design” and courses on “shared public ledgers.” Many of MIT’s courses are jointly taught by Neha Narula, who previously worked as a senior software engineer at Google and currently serves as the director of MIT Media Labs’ Digital Currency Initiative.
