In a previous article, we looked at the impact of blockchain technology’s use in higher education, viz for administrative purposes.
With the fall of bitcoin prices, one would assume that interest in blockchain and cryptocurrency would also diminish. However, more and more, there are universities such as Stanford, Cornell, Sterling (Scotland), Nicosia (in Cyprus) etc offering classes either purely on blockchain or mixed with finance curriculum. Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Moscow’s Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) also both run blockchain technology courses. Albeit, that the class numbers outweigh the available faculty who can lecture said courses. So why the continued pursuit by students of this field?
Presently, there are many opportunities for blockchain developers but not enough skilled technicians as the technology, when compared to traditional computing, is new. Toptal, a tech talent recruitment site, has recorded a 700% increase in demand for blockchain developers since January 2017. These positions can be highly compensated. According to Jerry Cuomo, VP of IBM’s blockchain technologies division, the best blockchain developers can earn a salary above US$250,000.
Professor David Yermack from NYC Stern School of Business was an early lecturer of blockchain and crypto tech for the university’s MBA programme. He suggests that business schools will have to update their curricula due to the rapid rate in which the markets are moving. His current class has doubled over the past year, and lessons are conducted at a larger auditorium because of the recent upsurge in student applications.
Blockchain training and education is needed in many sectors now and is not simply limited to IT and finance. Even agriculture has branched into the new tech.
From farming to health care, the need for more blockchain specialists is clearly on the rise, and it appears that universities are now catching up with the market’s growth of new uses for the blossoming technology across all sectors.
