Cryptocurrency startup ‘Ripple’ has announced the ‘University Blockchain Research Initiative’ (UBRI), a collaboration with top universities around the world “to support & accelerate academic research, technical development & innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency & digital payments.”
Ripple said it had committed over US $50 million in funding, subject matter expertise & technical resources to UBRI’s 1st wave of university partners. Seventeen institutions around the world are partners in this. Here’s the complete list.
These schools will determine their own research topics & priority areas of focus, while also partnering with Ripple to:
- Collaborate on research & technical development that will stimulate widespread understanding & innovation in blockchain.
- Create new curriculum to meet high student demand for learning about blockchain, cryptocurrency & other FinTech topics.
- Stimulate ideas & dialog among students, faculty, technologists & business leaders on topics of shared interest.
As part of UBRI, Ripple is also participating in MIT Computer Science & 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 & global payments.