University Blockchain Research Initiative

The race for the next big thing built around blockchain and cryptography is heating up. The University of Waterloo has joined other top universities to advance research and innovation around the two emerging technologies.

The Canadian University is now part of the Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative that will also seek to come up with new digital payment systems pegged around blockchain technology. The higher learning institution is to contribute to the world’s research capacity in cryptocurrency and blockchain.

The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas is another high profile learning institution that is to take part in the Ripple blockchain research initiative. The initiative has already drawn in 17 academic institutions worldwide including MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Haas, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Oregon and Australian National University College of Law among others.

Each university as part of the Ripple Blockchain Research initiative is to determine its own research areas and topic. The universities are tasked with the responsibility of designing their own curriculums focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency.

The aim is to provide a way and encourage students to pursue research and innovation around ledger technologies. The fact that the initiative has drawn in some of the most reputable universities should go a long way in accelerating the evolution of the blockchain technology.

Ripple Multi-Million Contribution

Waterloo’s research and development efforts are to be supported through a multimillion contribution from Ripple, a company based in San Francisco that specializes in blockchain initiatives. Ripple will provide not only financial resources but also strategic guidance and technical resources needed to develop innovative blockchain solutions.

“By increasing our ability to attract talent to Waterloo and work in conjunction with some of the world’s leading institutions, we will make a significant contribution to Canada and the world’s ability to address the challenges and opportunities that blockchain and cryptography technologies present,” said Pearl Sullivan, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Waterloo.

Ripple has already made up a five-year multi-million commitment to support the blockchain research and development activities. Ripple investment comes at a time when it is trying to affirm its edge and competitiveness on digital payments. The firm currently uses blockchain technology to provide real-time international currency transfer.

Its RippleNet blockchain payment service is one of the most sought after in the mainstream financial industry, having proved to be extremely reliable in the transfer of vast chunks of money at low cost.