NAIT Launches Innovative Courses for Alberta’s Blockchain Future | by Alexis Pappas | December 2022
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology is pioneering a series of courses designed to help Alberta leapfrog blockchain skills
Where do booming tech hubs begin? With skilled people who have the right knowledge and tools to drive innovation forward. For the blockchain industry, education has always been a major gap – according to a recent study by Linkedin, demand for professionals across all backgrounds accelerated in 2022, including non-technical paths such as marketing, business development and product management.
Home to dozens of blockchain companies, ranging from exchanges and payment services to smart contracts and mining, Alberta has quietly become a Canadian leader in the digital economy, but a lack of understanding of blockchain outside the industry is, as in other regions, a barrier. to the widespread use of the technology. And that means lost opportunities for sectors such as energy, finance and retail.
To help Alberta realize its potential for growth and digitization, and create opportunities for a new generation of in-demand Web3 and blockchain talent, the Canadian Blockchain Consortium has teamed up with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology to build a series of foundational course that guides students through the origins, terminology, and key use cases of blockchain technologies, including the metaverse, decentralized finance, and the expanding universe of tokens.
Designed for both students and professionals in a hands-on online format, Blockchain for Financial Services provides a detailed understanding of how the technology works, the challenges and opportunities of key use cases focused on solving critical business problems, and emerging global trends that highlight why blockchain will play an important role in Canada’s future competitiveness.
Armed with this knowledge, course graduates will be able to identify how blockchain platforms, assets and applications apply to a wide range of business cases, and use this knowledge to develop career specializations or entrepreneurship. Fields that benefit from this type of targeted blockchain education include law, finance, marketing, government, and traditional sectors such as resources — all of which are predicted to be transformed over the next few years by blockchain innovation.
Surinder Padem, NAIT’s program director, says he first became interested in blockchain just a few years ago, but quickly realized its revolutionary nature led to continuous learning. He believes that post-secondary institutions have a critical role to play in filling the knowledge gap as disruptive technologies create opportunities across industry verticals.
According to Surinder, the rapidly changing future of work means the education sector needs to be agile and creative. “We must develop and deliver industry-relevant training in order to upgrade and re-compete for the existing labor market. Also, we should have blockchain technology included in the diploma/degree programs so that new graduates are job ready. Our students are prepared for a blockchain future in their careers and lives, and we help our industry partners stay competitive.”
The metaverse is a key area where Surinder predicts a transformative impact—though it may not be an immediate shift. “The Metaverse has enormous potential, maybe not for my generation, but certainly for future generations. We’ve had a few internal discussions to start developing courses using the Metaverse environment. If done right, it could have huge financial savings “
While NAIT and the Canadian Blockchain Consortium’s first course collaboration focused on blockchain finance, which remains the leading use cases for the technology, Surinder says the school has big plans for curriculum that builds expertise in other applications that could eventually have an even bigger impact. on the global economy – smart contracts for business.
Together with experts from the Canadian Blockchain Consortium’s committees, NAIT plans course development for smart contracts in fields such as real estate, supply chains, digital identity/healthcare and fast-growing ESG fields such as emissions tracking and carbon offsets.
With its accelerating technology sector, Alberta has strong potential as a leader in Canada’s digital future, and it’s amazing to see our post-secondary institutions creating the foundational education we need to succeed. The challenges of “crypto winter” and the pivot away from speculative assets is an opportunity to focus on the technology’s true meaning and high impact cases – and people from all professions will benefit from understanding how to use blockchain for real value.
Learn more about NAIT’s innovative blockchain education programs: link
Discover more about the Canadian Blockchain Consortium: link
