University of Arkansas To Open Blockchain Education Center

The University of Arkansas announced the establishment of its new Blockchain Center of Excellence on August 2.

The new center, which the university’s board of trustees approved in May, will be part of the school’s Sam. M Walton College of Business Department of Information Systems and is intended to educate students on the “importance of blockchain technology in the future of business and digital security.” It’s also meant to be a place where academics, government representatives, and industry members can collaborate on blockchain projects that create new jobs and strengthen Arkansas’ business industry.

Mary C. Lacity, who joined the University of Arkansas this summer and has been chosen as the center’s director, said the college wants to position itself as a leader in blockchain technology education.

Walton College dean Matt Waller expressed the desired objectives for the new center:

“The mission of the center is three-fold. We will develop and establish research partnerships by conducting collaborative industry-university research, we will promote and enable dissemination of knowledge about blockchains, and we will accelerate industry adoption of blockchain technology.”

A specific timeline for the opening of the center has not been made public, and degrees and classes have yet to be listed on U of A’s website.

Many colleges and universities are seeing the demand for education in the industry. In June, ETHNews reported that the University of California, Berkeley was implementing a blockchain certification program. In July, a blockchain university called Woolf had plans to address challenges in the education sector using blockchain technology, and later that month, IBM and Columbia University announced they were collaborating to open a blockchain research and education center.

Nathan Graham is a full-time staff writer for ETHNews. He lives in Sparks, Nevada, with his wife, Beth, and dog, Kyia. Nathan has a passion for new technology, grant writing, and short stories. He spends his time rafting the American River, playing video games, and writing.

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