Universities respond to acute crypto skills shortage

A report published by Coinbase has revealed the growing levels of interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies at the academic level. To prepare the report, Coinbase inspected the courses offered at the top 50 universities in the world as ranked by the US News Best Global Universities list.

In order to provide a true representation of the courses offered by these universities, Coinbase focused its attention on courses that were available to both undergraduate and graduate level students.

Additionally, the study focused on the course schedules for the Fall 2018 semester. Where this information was not readily available, the study used the most recent semester for which course schedules were published online.

Reasons for the growing demand

Blockchain projects are having trouble finding engineers who possess the right skill sets and many are now resorting to funding the studies of young coders who will then proceed to work within their project.

While cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology projects are obviously in need of professionals conversant with the blockchain, non-blockchain companies are also in search of experienced blockchain talent. A recent Deloitte report stated the lack of experienced blockchain labor was a major barrier to entry for many companies. Thus, for students, having completed a course or courses related to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies is likely to provide them with an edge in the job market.

Campbell Harvey, a professor of International Business at Duke University explains: “If you’re graduating from law school it’s a tough market these days. However, the law students that are trained in blockchain, they don’t need to apply anywhere. People are just asking them to join their firms.”

While blockchain technology is new, there are few who doubt it has the potential to disrupt a wide array of industries. The fast pace at which technological breakthroughs are occuring in blockchain is propelling the sector to exponential growth and influence.

Dawn Song, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley believes this explains why universities are starting to offer blockchain courses. She states: “Blockchain combines theory and practice and can lead to fundamental breakthroughs in many research areas. It can have really profound and broad-scale impacts on society in many different industries.”

Universities are in the business of preparing their students to meet the demand of the job market. In its Q1 of 2018 report, online freelancing portal, Upwork, lists the fastest growing skills of that quarter. Remarkedly, blockchain tops the list. Thus, it is essential that institutions of higher learning should provide their students with the necessary skills so they can effectively compete in the job market.

This is especially true now that the sector is cementing its position as a serious disrupter. David Yermack, the finance department chair at New York University’s Stern School of Business agrees. He explains: “Students will benefit greatly by studying this area.”

How universities are meeting the demand

A total of 172 courses related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies are offered by the top 50 universities. 15 percent of these were offered by the business, economics, finance, and law departments, while four percent were offered through social science departments such as anthropology, history, and political science.

With 28 courses, Cornell University has the highest number of classes related to cryptography, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology. These include “Anthropology of Money” and “Introduction to Blockchains, Cryptocurrencies, and Smart Contracts,” among others.

Stanford University launched a Center for Blockchain Research this summer. The center is designed to bring together interested students and faculty from various departments in the school. The center will focus on research on varied aspects of blockchain technology as well as cryptocurrencies.

This interdepartmental approach is a common theme across universities. A number of institutions are offering these courses through a collaborative approach between departments. This is likely due to the wide array of industries the sector can impact.

This is also the case at Berkeley. Professor Song co-taught a course in the spring semester of 2018 called “Blockchain, Crypto Economics, and the Future of Technology, Business and Law.” The course was created as a result of a collaborative effort between the computer science, business, and law faculties. An equal number of students from each faculty were admitted into the course.

Princeton offers its students one class related to blockchain technology. The information-security course focuses on secure computing systems, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and related economics, ethics, as well as related legal issues.

Johns Hopkins University also has one course on the subject. Students are able to sign up for a business course on the blockchain. According to the school’s course catalog, the course covers “the potential benefits and weaknesses of its fundamental structure as applied to businesses and organizations.”

Interestingly, universities that are renowned for their engineering programs are adding courses and programs related to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. These include the University of Waterloo, Georgetown University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

What do students think of blockchain?

Coinbase also commissioned a London-based ad-tech company named Qriously to survey students in order to gauge their sentiments towards blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The survey questioned 675 U.S. students. The students queried were of varying academic levels and their ages were upwards of 16 years old.

“If you’re an expert in cryptocurrencies and cryptography you’ll have a difficult time not finding a job.”
— Benedikt Bünz, Stanford University doctoral student

Additionally, Qriously also held a survey of the general population. The purpose of this additional study was to compare the findings between the two demographics. The general population survey was responded to by 6,011 people who were older than 16 years of age.

Not surprisingly students showcase higher levels of interest in blockchain technology than the general population. 17 percent of the students said they considered their knowledge of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to be above average. This is almost double that of the general population which came in at nine percent. Further, 18 percent of students said they own (or have owned) cryptocurrency. This is twice the rate of the general population.

The report states 9% of students have taken a blockchain-related course, while 26% would like to enroll in such a class.The majority of the students who have taken these courses are studying computer science, however, interest is spread across all majors. 17 percent came from the computer science and engineering faculties, 15 percent were economics and math majors while 11 percent identified as business majors. Only five percent of social science majors have taken such a course.

For most, the interest in blockchain technology is fuelled by the desire to be gainfully employed after graduation. As Benedikt Bünz, a doctoral student at Stanford, explains: “If you’re an expert in cryptocurrencies and cryptography you’ll have a difficult time not finding a job.”