Two more universities get into blockchain education with specialized online courses

This week sees two more universities get into the blockchain game by offering courses in cryptocurrency, fintech, and distributed ledger technology.

Earlier this week, Ireland’s Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation Heather Humphreys launched the country’s first Master’s in blockchain technology. While on the other side of the Atlantic, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania introduced a new course on all things fintech.

Ireland’s new blockchain Master’s was developed in collaboration with Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet, a government funded ICT training organization, and Dublin City University. The course is targeted primarily at IT professionals looking to build their blockchain dev skills.

The “MSc in Blockchain” aims to close the skills gap that ICT Skillnet claims is currently preventing adoption of the technology, and to help Ireland become one of the world’s leading developers of blockchain related technology, according to the prospectus.

Although it’s an online course, only residents of the Republic of Ireland can apply, though.

The University of Pennsylvania’s business school, The Wharton School is – as you might expect – taking a more business-oriented approach. Its new “Fintech: Foundations and Applications of Financial Technologies” course has been launched in response to the world’s “rapidly changing business landscape,” an announcement reads.

The course will cover cryptocurrency and blockchain, and other topics including: payments, crowdfunding, and modern investing. Wharton’s course, which will be available through online learning platform Coursera, is aimed at complete beginners and will be open to everyone.

This means that although it’ll be taught by Wharton educators, you won’t receive any university credits. The course takes 16 weeks to complete, and will set you back about $80 (70 euro) a month for a Coursera subscription.

Over the last 12 months, nearly half the world’s top universities have launched new courses designed to educate the next generation of blockchain professionals.

IBM also partnered with the University of Louisville to offer the IBM Skills Academy, which offered courses in a range of developing technologies, including blockchain.

Blockchain courses are nothing new, but it certainly seems to be a growing industry in its own right.