According to Wharton’s latest MBA employment report, a big chunk of the 2017 graduates (14.9) are employed in technologies. Still, only 4% of these graduates decided to work in software.
However, with a new program which started at the beginning of June, these employment numbers may change: Wharton will start partnering with the Ripple Project dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology. The project was launched by Ripple, a company based on blockchain, P&Q reports.
Some of the project’s financing (around $50 million in general) will be given to Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. It will be used for financial aid, research and education. Candidates will be selected by the Ripple Fellowship for financial support. Kevin Werbach, Wharton’s legal studies and business ethics associate professor, believes that the project will help even more by bringing new solutions in the sphere of blockchain.
As Wharton has already started working on blockchain, Ripple was eager to approach this school. Due to the growing student interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain, this joint project will be of much benefit to both students and alumni.
To boost blockchain
Kevin Werbach hopes that thanks to this new program students and faculty will give more innovative research and developments to increase the value of the global blockchain ecosystem (the way for entrepreneurs and clients to connect directly without using the services of banks, which will make the transaction less expensive). The digital ledger of transactions will be seen by everyone on the network.
The blockchain industry is new – it started only in 2009, and now is the high time to boost it and help it grow. Blockchain technologies will be a great solution to real business problems. Dean of the Wharton School, Geoffrey Garrett, said that blockchain unites finance and technology to change the world. For Wharton students – future leaders and entrepreneurs – it will be a great example of the changing dynamics in economy, logistics and finance.
Blockchain is interdisciplinary
This spring, the first Penn Blockchain Conference was held, where blockchain communities talked about new developments to help connect technology and business. There were many lectures and workshops to help students, faculty and industry unite their strengths to achieve new breakthroughs. The largest auditorium in Wharton was full, showing the overwhelming student interest in blockchain.
For blockchain enthusiasts, universities are the ideal places to develop new technologies, as they are full of eager students and faculty needing funding for their research and producing hundreds of new ideas. Using this vast potential, blockchain has a much bigger chance of becoming the technology of the future making a bridge between businesses and engineering, as well as businesses and customers.
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