Binance Academy has partnered with Blockchain Center to expand the Global University Outreach Program to multiple countries with the aim of integrating blockchain education into the curricula of over 200 universities across more than 50 countries.
The program aims to provide specialized training to more than 300 university educators and create an academic knowledge bank, looking to educate more than one million students in blockchain engineering and compliance by 2026.
Binance Academy will contribute to the scaling of the Global Outreach Program and advancing blockchain education worldwide. Blockchain Center will be in charge of the educational and training components of the program.
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Binance Academy, our open-access blockchain and Web3 learning hub, has joined forces with Blockchain Center, an independent non-profit research laboratory that fosters blockchain talent development through education, research, and development worldwide, to expand their joint blockchain education program globally. Now branded as the Global University Outreach Program, the initiative was initially launched in 22 universities in Kazakhstan.
Now it aims to integrate blockchain education into the curricula of over 200 universities across more than 50 countries, with a core focus on blockchain engineering and compliance.
To build up the initial momentum, Binance Academy and Blockchain Center will provide specialized training to more than 300 university educators. Another major goal of the program is to create a comprehensive academic knowledge bank, which would facilitate the integration of blockchain engineering and compliance courses into existing educational programs. The initiative is projected to educate more than one million students by 2026.
“Blockchain Center’s goal is to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology by stimulating the growth of the human capital in the industry. We are proud of our groundbreaking educational initiative, which will significantly enhance talent development in the industry. The project offers a robust platform for aspiring professionals to explore, experiment, and innovate new solutions in the field,” said Aidana Kaskyrbek, CEO and founder of the Blockchain Center.
The Blockchain Engineering program offers a comprehensive introduction to distributed ledger technology and empowers learners with the knowledge and skills needed to excel as blockchain engineers. The 20-week course is designed to ensure a holistic understanding of blockchain development, including BNB Chain fundamentals, Web3, and Solidity development, along with insights into digital assets.
The Compliance program builds a thorough foundation for understanding the issues and opportunities at the intersection of blockchain and regulatory policy. Packed into a 13-week curriculum, it introduces students to the essential elements of blockchain compliance. The course includes an analysis of varying global regulatory frameworks and attendant legal challenges, as well as a forward-looking perspective on the potential models of governing digital assets in the future.
In selecting universities to participate, Blockchain Center developed a comprehensive methodology that accounts for both regional influence and solid educational infrastructure. Crucial indices, including the Cryptocurrency Adoption Index and the Frontier Technologies Readiness Index, guided the decision-making, highlighting countries with a robust interest in blockchain and a socio-economic framework to support its adoption. Additionally, the inclusion of the Academic Freedom Index ensured the selected countries offer environments that foster unencumbered academic discussions and exchanges.
This process led to the selection of a diverse group of countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, each bringing a unique blend of technological readiness and enthusiasm for blockchain.
Binance Academy will be pivotal in scaling the program globally, relying on its extensive network of schools and educators to onboard new universities to the program. To further enhance the educational experience, Binance Academy will also help arrange guest lectures, drawing on its pool of industry experts and thought leaders.
“In the rapidly changing world of digital finance, blockchain education is a key pillar for driving transformation,” said Yi He, co-founder of Binance. “Through this educational initiative, Binance Academy and Blockchain Center will cultivate a new generation of skillful talents poised to propel our industry forward and ignite innovation. Let’s keep building.”
The Global Outreach Program follows the successful pilot in Kazakhstan, first announced in December 2022, which incorporated a foundational blockchain curriculum into the academic programs of 22 universities nationwide. As part of this initiative, over 300 university educators have been trained in blockchain engineering and compliance. More than 4,000 students have begun studying these subjects at Kazakhstani universities.
The pilot program was executed via a collaborative, multi-step approach between the Blockchain Center and Binance Academy. Initially, the focus was on crafting specialized programs and training sessions for university educators. Building on the educators’ newly acquired expertise, Blockchain Center worked with university management to finalize the academic programs and roll out the developed curricula to students at the participating universities.
The successful run of the pilot project in Kazakhstan informed the decision to initiate the Global Outreach Program, taking Binance Academy and Blockchain Center’s ambition to advance blockchain education to an international level.