The University of Cincinnati (UC) in Ohio has announced that new courses around cryptocurrency will form part of its syllabus to educate students about the emerging financial technologies like Bitcoin and other digital assets.

As cryptocurrencies become more and more widely adopted as a transactional asset (not just a store of value for investment), the market has attracted more attention from academic institutions and universities across the world. To highlight this, UC has developed two new courses that are designed to facililtate information and education about cryptocurrencies to students looking to manage digital assets in the economy.

According to a UC News story, the new programmes are being funded by Dan Kautz and Woodrow Uible who will be providing the University with the courses as well as providing the funding to create a public-private lab space in the new Digital Future headquarters. As per the announcement, the programmes will be offering hands-on education:

Thanks to Dan and Woody, our students will gain hands-on, experiential education in this new frontier of financial technology. Our students will learn how to manage cryptocurrencies and how such digital assets impact our economy, positioning UC as the regional leader and among the top universities nationally with this kind of program.”

Cryptocurrency education

Cryptocurrency-related education has seen increasing popularity across universities. Other universities that have adopted the idea of adding cryptocurrency to its programmes include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is prominent for foundational research as well as a high-end academic curriculum in finance. Harvard also has a blockchain-specific student network where cryptocurrency discussions are held and an incubator programme exists to facililtate and allow students to create and launch cryptocurrency projects.

As Uible noted regarding the new UC course:

Blockchain and the underlying application of cryptocurrency is at the cutting edge of business innovation and management. It is important that UC students be informed and educated about this technology. We feel that students will learn more by participating in the process of trading crypto currencies and directly working with a blockchain. That experience is much more valuable and meaningful than just learning from a textbook.”