The Western University of Timișoara is launching a new postgraduate study program, a national first, in a leading field of IT applications - "Blockchain entrepreneurship". The chosen field, but also the value of the mentors and lecturers who will support the disciplines included in this new program, positions UVT in the vanguard of European universities that introduce the Blockchain field into the curriculum area and among the advanced research concerns they develop.
The field of Blockchain-type IT applications is considered, internationally, as one with the most extensive development opportunities. Its applicability is constantly expanding, both for the cryptocurrency transaction sector - Blockchain technology being the basis for the generation of the Bitcoin virtual currency and several hundred other variants of cryptocurrencies -, but also for other key fields, such as medicine or administration. The course is aimed at both those interested in developing a career in the blockchain field, as well as enthusiasts who want to learn more about a market that has seen explosive growth in recent times, both in terms of market share in the case of cryptocurrencies, as well as in terms of technology and potential in various industrial fields.
The postgraduate program "Entrepreneurship in Blockchain" is managed by the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of UVT, within which there is an interdisciplinary research group in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency programming. The coordinators of the group are Prof. Dr. Viorel Negru and Lecturer Dr. Ciprian Pungilă, and the group's current research directions include numerous aspects of high-performance computing in blockchain-type distributed systems. The new postgraduate study program benefits, in addition to the involvement of UVT academics (FMI and FEAA), from the contribution of prestigious specialists from Timisoara, from UPT and UIST, as well as guests from the country and Europe, who will certainly represent , compelling arguments for all those interested in strengthening theoretical and practical knowledge of Blockchain technologies.
Among the invited mentors, who will lead the didactic and application activities, there is also a real international "star" of cryptocurrency transactions, entrepreneur Mihai Alisie, co-founder of the Ethereum project, the second largest project in the world's cryptocurrency market. Last year, Mihai Alisie was present at UVT, when he lectured in the framework Blockchain Workshop - Innovation and Applicability in Business. The project he developed, Ethereum, last year had a market capitalization of 23 billion dollars and a value of about 215 dollars per coin. Along with him, well-known teachers and professionals will support course modules and seminars, or activities of applied projects, among which we mention: the vice-governor of the National Bank of Romania, Prof. Dr. Leonardo Badea, the manager Armand Doru Domuța, entrepreneur Restart Energy Timișoara; university researchers: Prof. Dr. Carmen Holotescu (UIST), Prof. Dr. Valentin Munteanu (UVT), Prof. Dr. Bogdan Dima (UVT), lecturer Dr. Ciprian Pungilă (UVT), lecturer Dr. Răzvan Bogdan (UPT) and lecturer Dr. Cristian Cira (UVT).
The rector of UVT, university professor Dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, emphasizes the specifics of the award announced by the launch of this new postgraduate course: "UVT joins the elite circle of universities that have opened a special field of university studies and research through programs dedicated to Blockchain technologies. It is a cutting-edge level of study programs dedicated to encryption technologies, opening a new digital era with applicability in the real economy. UVT, the Timișoara university center and, of course, Romania, thus joins the circle of prestigious universities and countries where Blockchain is studied, such as the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cornell University, from the USA, or IT University Copenhagen and University of Nicosia, from Europe. For those interested in the technologies of the future, elite professionals in IT fields and advanced programming languages, but especially for those who are convinced that learning is a continuous passion, UVT is the most opportune choice".
The curriculum of the proposed program includes core and optional subjects, among which are the courses "Blockchain Technical Foundations in Decentralized and Permission-Based Systems", "Application Programming on Different Blockchain Platforms", "Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Blockchain", "Decentralized Models" in Economy and Society", "Blockchain Applications in Finance" or "Blockchain Applications in Energy", "Blockchain Applications in Education" and "Applications for Supply Chains", the offer for optional courses will increase.
The study program will run for 12 weeks (10 weeks of courses, 2 weeks of preparation of the final project), in a modular system, being organized in a hybrid format (F2F and virtual). For 2020 – 2021, the program will operate in online format, with the first series starting in the second part of August. The proposed program involves activities with a duration of 2 hours on weekdays and 5 hours on Saturdays, with daily online assistance of the students by mentors. The students will be selected through an admission stage within the program (interview test), and at the end they will take an exam (practical project), evaluated by the program completion committee.
Registration for this course will take place in July. Until the official registration start date, which will be announced, those interested can pre-register for this postgraduate study program, being invited to announce their application by email, sending a letter of intent, together with a Curriculum Vitae, to the e-mail address blockchain.info@e-uvt.ro
