Graduate Schools Catch Crypto-fever

The Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies (aSSIST) recently announced that it had launched the “world’s first crypto MBA course for a business graduate school.” Setting out to “remedy the lack of academic research and systematic education currently available in the industry, despite a high level of social interest in the blockchain and cryptocurrency,” the course explores blockchain, cryptoeconomics and the token economy from technological, cryptoeconomic and business strategic perspectives. In doing so, it hopes to produce the token economists, chief digital currency officers, crypto strategy officers and crypto investors who will lead the economy of the future.

According to the Crypto MBA’s website, the program is a reorganization of the existing Digital Strategy MBA Course, launched in the first semester of 2018. Some readers may recall that ICON took part in that program. The new course, which launches in the first semester of 2019, includes curricula on Bitcoin, Ethereum, smart contract, cryptology, EOS, deep learning and system dynamics mechanisms.

Bitcoin.com reports that though aSSIST offers a full crypto MBA program, business schools around the world are adding crypto-related courses, including Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Mcdonough School of Business.

Relatedly, the Korean-language blockchain news website Block Media notes that here in the Land of the Morning Calm, a number of graduate schools have added grad programs and even whole departments on blockchain, including Hanyang University, Dongguk University, Sogang University, POSTECH and, as mentioned above, aSSIST.

This trend is raising questions, however. Some observers doubt the need for separate blockchain departments, questioning why universities should create new departments every time an emerging technology gets hot. Critics also worry that Korea lacks the blockchain experts needed to properly cultivate specialists. Proponents counter, however, that given blockchain’s convergent nature, separate “blockchain experts” do not exist, at least not yet – you can begin by bringing in experts in related fields such as cryptology, economics and computer engineering.

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