A new group dubbed the 'Ticino Blockchain Technologies Association' has recently been launched in partnership with a number of companies within the blockchain space as well as two academic entities. According to a statement published by the association, the group aims to “link two main drivers of innovation” universities and private companies.
As such, both the University of Southern Switzerland and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland have been announced as founding members of the group, in addition to Bitcoin .com, Copernicus, the Swiss Blockchain Consortium, Eligma, Euronovate, Eventboost, Pangea Blockchain Fund, Poseidon Group, the Quadrans Foundation, StrongBlock.io, Superflat, and Poseidon Group.
Boas Erez, Rector of the University of Southern Switzerland, expressed his beliefs about the importance of collaboration between the public and private sector when it comes to research: “I believe very much in the value of partnership-based research initiatives for the University and for Ticino,” he said.
Boas Erez, Rector of the University of Southern Switzerland.
“Today, knowledge is not only found in research institutes, it is distributed more widely. These structured cooperations with companies allow us to expand our multidisciplinary expertise – in this case in Economics and Computer Science – and our impact on the territory.”
Blockchain’s Private Sector Is Growing Increasingly Close to Academia
The establishment of the organization is the latest development in a growing connection between academic institutions and the private sector working in the blockchain space.
In September, How to Study Blockchain published a list of more than thirty accredited institutions around the globe that are offering master’s degrees related to blockchain technology.
For example, last October, the University of Malta launched a master’s program entitled 'Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology' course for both lawyers and programmers.
According to the program’s prospectus, “programmers will require knowledge of regulatory and legal frameworks within which smart contracts are being proposed, and similarly lawyers would be required to understand obligations laid out within smart contracts.”
