University Relationships with Cryptocurrency Projects
When blockchain technology was introduced to the public, there was a frenzy on behalf of entrepreneurs looking to utilize and capitalize on the new technology. What began as a way to use blockchain monetarily (Bitcoin) quickly became about much more. Many started to frantically build workable projects with real world use cases. This type of forward thinking gave way to assets like Ethereum. Ethereum catapulted the imaginations of many as it introduced the idea of smart contracts. Smart contracts allow for specific agreements to be met utilizing blockchain technology instead of relying on a third party to carry out the terms of an agreement. The innovation in the crypto space has only just begun. It’s become such a large industry that there’s seemingly always something to learn. It’s now more important than ever to be able to offer people educational tools in order to help beginners learn more about blockchain and the market it has created. Recently, some projects in the crypto space have taken that to heart and have started to build relationships with universities in order to pass along the knowledge that has been expanded so heavily since the introduction of Bitcoin. Along with these projects that have contracts with universities, many projects have been created specifically as a way to educate students about blockchain technology or to help students gain access to better education.
Student Coin is a great example of projects built to help college students. This project was started in 2017 but officially launched in 2021. The platform allows anyone to create and manage their own start up, DeFi, or NFT tokens. This is particularly exciting for students because this coin allows them to obtain a decentralized loan so they can pay for college. Students are meant to make these tokens and then take out a loan. After that, they can use the token in many ways to generate funds that allow them to repay the loan at a faster rate. This ultimately means that repayments for loans are going to carry lower interest rates and more options to pay back the loan. With so many options and real world experience, the project is teaching students how they can take control of their personal finances and how they can find a place within the current crypto market. This project also plans to launch an educational panel that will help to teach the public about blockchain.
Next up, let’s talk about College Crypto Network (CCN). This project launched in 2014 and also works toward educating students about blockchain technology and the possibilities therein. Stanford, MIT, and the University of Michigan formed this group from a handful of already existing crypto clubs. This was done to create a specific location that this information can be housed and disseminated. Their main goals are to help students with bad credit, be a guide for students and faculty, and to provide a network of people in the field that can help with job placement after college.
There’s another project looking to help students and it’s called Cobalt Lend. Cobalt Lend has recently signed a contract with the University of Kentucky to share their project with the students there. These students are looking to get their masters in the area of coding and computer science so the Cobalt team has graciously allowed room for students to not only have readable material but to also have hands-on experience with building out using blockchain technology. In return for students taking on specific tasks within the project, they receive college credit and a way to create or build onto their own personal portfolios. In addition to this student program, they’ll be working more in the future to help the general public understand the world of blockchain technology through videos and how-to examples.
Collaborations like these are paramount to the success of cryptocurrency. Not only will they help to solve problems like the rising cost of tuition and interest rates attached to some college loans but they’ll also help educate an entire generation that will soon be building blockchain projects themselves. In the future, there will be more projects geared toward education in blockchain and there will be more partnerships with universities. For now, it’s encouraging to see how important blockchain education has become to a lot of universities and cryptocurrency projects alike.
