University of British Columbia Adds Blockchain Program for Master's and PhD Students

One of Canada's leading research universities, the University of British Columbia, is launching a blockchain tech training path for graduate students.

According to the UBC, the program is a first in Canada.

UBC aims to train 139 students over six years, and build out services for existing master's and PhD students in educationally adjacent areas.

Interested students do not need to come to the program with blockchain experience.

Mitacs, a not-for-profit that works with federal and municipal governments to support industrial innovation, will also provide $1.324 million over six years.

The agency will fund 18 master's and eight PhD internships in the field, representing a potential value of over $2.44 million for 156 internships and post-doctoral training projects over the course of the partnership.

Its research papers and projects bring academics and industry partners together to explore issues in emerging blockchain technologies.

Past educational initiatives have spanned undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels.

UBC's most recent initiative will be taught by UBC faculty from diverse disciplines, including natural science, FinTech, engineering and computer science, and information governance, as well as non-STEM fields.

"Complex, wicked problems require a collision of perspectives," Victoria Lemieux told CoinDesk, referring to the challenges in blockchain education.