Enterprise blockchain solutions provider Ripple expanded its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) network by adding another eleven universities in the United States, China, Singapore and Brazil.
UBRI was launched by Ripple in June 2018 with 17 universities as launch partners to accelerate academic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments. It also announced a $50 million funding for this initiative.
UBRI’s launch partners included MIT, Princeton University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Pennsylvania. In Europe, UBRI helps Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the University of Luxembourg to build a new blockchain research program.
Under UBRI, Ripple is partnering some of the leading universities around the world to help grow the blockchain ecosystem and support the industry. It now supports a total of 29 partner universities, representing a broad cross section of geographies and markets, as well as academic disciplines.
The new UBRI partners include Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Duke University, Georgetown University, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, Morgan State University, National University of Singapore, Northeastern University, University of São Paulo, and Institute for Fintech Research at Tsinghua University.
The partners will help Ripple identify research, technical projects and other academic activities that they will pursue as part of the UBRI program. Each university will determine its own research topics and areas of focus and Ripple will provide subject matter expertise and technical resources, as needed.
Further, the partners will utilize UBRI resources to develop curricula, expanding or launching courses, hosting conferences and awarding scholarships to faculty and students pursuing work in blockchain, cryptocurrency, digital payments and related topics.
These programs, driven by the university partners, will help prepare the next generation of engineers, business leaders, entrepreneurs and other professionals to apply these technologies in practice across various industries.
According to Ripple, the initiative reflects a surge in demand for jobs related to blockchain/ cryptocurrency.
