The New York-headquartered blockchain startup ConsenSys that builds decentralized applications (dApps) and tools for Ethereum, has partnered with online education platform Coursera to offer a course 'Blockchain: Foundations And Use Cases', including topics such as foundational concepts of blockchain and decentralization as well as cryptography and consensus mechanisms.
The course is designed to give students an introduction to blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) and develop the knowledge and skills needed to understand how blockchain is changing certain sectors and industries, as well as the ways blockchain can solve specific problems. The course is designed for students of varying skill levels, including individuals who lack a technical education.
The Linux Foundation has also announced the enrollment for its new advanced training course for Hyperledger Fabric blockchain technology. The course introduces the fundamental concepts as well as the core architecture and components that make up typical decentralized Hyperledger Fabric applications. Additionally, Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator and Certified Hyperledger Sawtooth Administrator exams will be released later in the year, the foundation said.
Educational institutions around the globe have been actively embracing blockchain technology. A recent study conducted by the US-based popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase showed that 42 percent of the world’s top 50 universities have at least one class on cryptocurrencies or blockchain. The globally recognized CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute is also adding topics on cryptocurrencies and blockchain to its Level I and Level II curriculums for the first time from 2019 exams onwards.
Other top institutions that are offering courses related to cryptos and blockchain are Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford, University College of London, the University of Edinburgh, etc. There are plenty of online learning sites also, like Udemy, Coursera, edX, and Udacity, who offer hundreds of courses, including general lessons in foundational cryptography and more specialized classes on blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Blockchain technology has started to transform many industries from financial services (over $6.3 billion has been raised through initial coin offerings or ICOs in the United States alone) to voting to cloud computing to advertising. With this spike in popularity, blockchain-related jobs are the second-fastest growing in today’s labor market. It is a positive development, which shows that the fintech sector is expanding well.