The most remarkable business schools bet on technology by expanding their course offerings on cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech.
All of this was impossible to think, some years ago. We started talking about digital coins as a result of technological evolution. So today we should not be surprised to read the news that Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business are expanding classes in digital currency and blockchain technology to keep up with demand from students and their future employers.
Kevin Werbach, a notable professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, will teach a class in the fall of 2018 called “Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Distributed Ledger Technology.”
“We’re at the point where there’s a critical mass to teach this domain. There will be a real phenomenon in business for the foreseeable future, and five years down the road there won’t be too many major business schools that don’t offer similar classes.” said Werbach.
The professor Werbach pointed to Wharton School alumni working at crypto and blockchain start-ups Ripple, Bitmain and Coinbase, all of which he guessed would recruit students who avoid careers on Wall Street. Venture capital and crypto are looking for a very deep knowledge of blockchain tech.
Furthermore, Stanford Business School added a class called “Cryptocurrency” and it will start in May 2018. Itamar Orr, a second-year MBA student at Stanford, praised the expanded course offerings, saying it will help students once they go out into the labour market.
“Many of us will have to discuss blockchain at our jobs. It makes sense to teach it,” Itamar Orr said. “It gets you a competitive advantage; it’s an extra hammer in your toolbox.”
According to PitchBook, venture-capital(VC) investment in blockchain startups enhanced to $911 million in 2017, up 88% from 2016. So many recruiters from venture-capital firms are costantly seeking candidates who are well-informed about cryptocurrencies technology and new trends.
Susan Athey, a professor at Stanford Business School who’s on the board of Ripple, said that the interest in cryptocurrency classes went through the roof and it was powered by bitcoin’s soaring prices in 2017.
“The fluctuations in the prices have everyone mesmerized: Just how did this happen? Many people have gone boom or bust. A that’s, of course, exciting, attracts a lot of interest, and motivates people to understand what’s going on.” She said.
All we have to do now is waiting for the crypto classes to start and see what will happen.
