Blockchain

Ripple Commits $50 Million USD to the University Blockchain Research Initiative

Ripple announced their University Blockchain Research initiative, a collaboration with top universities around the world to support and accelerate academic research, technical development and innovation blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments.

In launching this initiative Ripple has committed over $50 million USD in funding, subject matter expertise and technical resources to UBRI’s first wave of university partners —17 prestigious institutions around the world. These schools will determine their own research topics and priority areas of focus, while also partnering with Ripple to:

Collaborate on research and technical development that will stimulate widespread understanding and innovation in blockchain.
Create new curriculum to meet high student demand for learning about blockchain, cryptocurrency and other FinTech topics.
Stimulate ideas and dialog among students, faculty, technologists and business leaders on topics of shared interest.

The initial UBRI partners represent a broad cross-section of geographies and markets, as well as a rich blend of academic disciplines.

For example, as the regulatory conversation continues to evolve in the public sector, the Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP) at Princeton University is creating an UBRI program that will study the policy impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the U.S. and around the world.

At The University of Pennsylvania, UBRI is supporting select MBA-MS candidates each year in a newly established Wharton-Engineering dual-degree program. This funding aims to prioritize students working on blockchain or cryptocurrency.

As part of UBRI, Ripple is also participating in MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab’s new FinTech initiative made up of a nearly a dozen companies across the financial services industry to work with groups of CSAIL’s 116+ researchers on topics like blockchain, cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity and global payments.

In Europe, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the University of Luxembourg are building a new blockchain research program inside their Departments of Computer Science and Engineering with the help of UBRI.