Blockchain is going to be huge!

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by AsianStew, Dec 24, 2021.

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  1. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Just researching the topic and noticed that Blockchain technology might be the next big thing... I've been reading articles mentioning this. I was curious if there are any degree programs that tailor to this industry already? I know there are degrees in "software development" and CS/IT related, but hardly see any for Blockchain.

    Blockchain in retail, huge growth: Blockchain in Retail Sector Market to Witness Huge Growth by 2028 (openpr.com)
    10 Biggest Blockchain Companies: 10 Biggest Blockchain Companies (investopedia.com)
    Highest-funded crowdfunding projects: List of highest-funded crowdfunding projects - Wikipedia
    Reddit: How to make $2,000 USD daily : CRYPTOGAMING (reddit.com)
     
  2. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

  3. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

  4. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    The University of Nicosia has some online offerings: free MOOCs along with certificate programs and even graduate level degrees.

    https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/

    The free MOOCs are interesting but unfortunately synchronous, last I checked. They might be worth checking out if you live in the right time zone.
     
  5. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Oh if we're expanding to MOOCs, Quantic also has several free blockchain courses available to people. I understand (but haven't confirmed) that you can complete these even if you haven't been admitted to a degree program.
     

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  6. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

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  7. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    It appears that they are only available to current students. The courses pictured have a 'lock' graphic on them for me, and the following text is displayed:

    "This course is available as part of our MBA program."
     
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  8. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Shoot, sorry! When I'm not logged in, the Quantic site says "Sign up for free and immediately access a library of 47 introductory business lessons."

    I realize now they must be referring to the Business Fundamentals course.
     
  9. pueblopicasso

    pueblopicasso Member

    I do Blockchain training from the executive non-technical areas to the very technical parts (creating Smart Contracts, DApps, etc.). I wouldn't recommend a degree specialising exclusively on Blockchain as it is a very new technology protocol (3-5 years in development), but any digital technology related degree can be specialised through a final year thesis, dissertation or project on investigating or creating a PoC on Blockchain.

    I've done quite a number of Blockchain micro-credentials from Blockchain Council, BTA, IBM and these to me are currently the better options here compared to say an MSc or MA on Blockchain. Early days but yes Blockchain has its use, though the more established RDBMS can be the better solution depending on the problem.

    @Dustin I did the Blockchain Specialisation on Quantic a while back. It's a good introduction certainly. There are also a few Blockchain specific courses on LinkedIn Learning and part of a larger learning pathway, such as Mastering Digital Transformation. Accessible only via LinkedIn Premium but it's a good investment to other courses that LinkedIn Learning offers. In my most recent LinkedIn post, my Blockchain digital badges made part of my collection for 2021, and I mentioned of Blockchain being one of my focus areas for upskilling in 2022.

    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shaiomarali_digitalbadges-cpd-upskills-activity-6879843062814777344-BiX5
     
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  10. mintaru

    mintaru Active Member

    In addition to cryptocurrencies, there is another widespread use of blockchain technology - at least in countries with so-called Covid passports. Often, these Covid passports are based on blockchain technology. I first read about the development of these blockchain Covid passports in May 2020. Here is an example of an article from that time: https://www.coinspeaker.com/european-blockchain-coronavirus-passports/

    Not all of the Covid passports that exist around the world are based on blockchain technology, but many are.
     
  11. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Blockchains have been in development significantly longer than five years. The original Bitcoin white paper was released in 2008. But blockchains predate Bitcoin, e.g., Surety has been using them for document timestamping since 1995.
     
  12. pueblopicasso

    pueblopicasso Member

    I’m not referring to cryptocuurency or DLTs. Those are volatile in their own ways. Even I don’t dabble in crypto. Talking about the use of Blockchain 2.0 and 3.0, as an alternative to centralised databases such as RDBMS. There’s a lot of super fast development on the use of blockchain for digital data governance for example. The Hyperledger series of whats available is already enough to convince that the technology is undergoing a very early adopter phase. I do Smart Contracts and DApps on blockchain, and even I can’t keep up with how the protocol changes.

    The question is not ‘What can blockchain do?’ which you are alluding to, but ‘What can blockchain do to your reengineer your business process, enhance your organisation, and most importantly your bette cater for your customers/end-users for the digital future?’. The latter is the more important question.
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Hey, I was just going by what you said initially. I agree with you that how it can actually help people reach their goals is its most interesting and important aspect.
     
  14. pueblopicasso

    pueblopicasso Member

    Not an issue really. It’s quite a common misconception. I conduct a 3-day blockchain workshop for organisations, which means that the focus is the purpose of blockchain for organisations. I start the first day with demystifying myths and misconceptions, engage attendees first by asking them what they know about blockchain. The common answers are Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, peer-to-peer, DLT. What eludes most always is that blockchain is not a technology, it is a protocol. It can be distributed ledger, but it doesnt always have to be all distributed ledger. It depends on the organisation’s requirements. It is certainly what makes bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies possible, but what organisation has cryotocurrency as its core business in the first place? Cryptocurrencies are for individuals who invest, made by individuals or a company that has dedicated itself to providing cryptocurreny. For organisations, blockchain is about value, but not just any value, but value that can be made better with the use of blockchain than the use of other alternatives such as DBMS or multicloud or centralised apps or ID databasing or asset management. Because there are still these alternatives that can work and have a long history of being established, blockchain is a venture that an organisation has to be clear with what they are getting into. Certainly blockchain has many benefits and is increasingly inevitably the future of transaction and value management. But it doesn’t at this early adaption point in time require people with MSc Blockchain or something along that line. There is currently no success story of a wide range value from blockchain, although there may well be in the future with the investments made by some countries to bring all governance on-chain. This justifies that blockchain at this point in time is more suited as microcredential and extensions to a more robust masters degree such as Cybersecurity or Data Science or Digital Transformation. For blockchain, there are many microcredentials specific to the technology such as those offered by Hyperledger, Ethereum and Corda. These are highly specialised skills that would certainly be useful from the technical standpoint. And the use of blockchain by organisations is where the largest permanent job market for blockchain is because this will be applicable to most companies including the Fortune 500. Anything else such as cryptocurrency and NFTs, that’s a specific and very small job market niche offered by NFT platforms and traders such as if one wants to work for Binance or Crypto or OpenSea. There are around possibly only 100-200 of these companies, and they don’t employ big compared to big techs like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Accenture, SAP, etc.
     
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  15. Steve King

    Steve King Member

    A couple of years ago, I completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s online executive education course, Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application course.

    The six-week course was a fantastic way to quickly understand blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). While that was covered, we also thought about other uses of an immutable distributed ledger. The emphasis was on business applications and implications rather than coding, which was what I wanted. The framable certificate from MIT was a nice bonus. The only downside was the ridiculous price, which my employer paid for me.
     
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  16. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

  17. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I assume if you earn the Masters-level version, you can't transfer that into the PhD. Or can you?
     
  18. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    No! The policy is that if your course credits were deemed for a degree cannot be transferred. 80% of my tuition at the University of Cumberlands is reimbursed by my employer because there is a cap on annual of $5,200.00 per year.
     
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  19. Steve King

    Steve King Member

    Are the more expensive Executive PhD courses taught entirely in-person? Is that why they’re more expensive?
     
  20. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I think they have only one or two weekend residencies during the semester. The course is 16 weeks instead of 8 weeks. The purpose of the Executive Program is to help foreigners staying in the US for work. My best friend tried to apply for the Executive program and was denied instead offering an Online program.

    "The US’s broken immigration system is helping two Kentucky Universities enroll thousands of students"
     
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