A blockchain master within Ximedes

As Dan Tapscott said: "Yesterday's phone companies make enormous profits from long-distance revenue. Today, Skype does it all for free." So, business models change all the time. And remember when Bill Gates said, "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten years. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction."

Blockchain is a promising disruptive innovation that can change the world as we currently know it. With it come new terms like blockchain, soft fork, hard fork, smart contracts, ICO, IFO, DAO, to name a few. Everybody is talking about it and it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. There are several one-day courses and workshops to inform you about this subject, but currently there is only one university, the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, which offers a 'MSc Digital Currency' program and is leading in this domain.

One of our principal architects, Mark Wigmans, is currently enrolled in the MSc program. The program is a combination of courses about money, global banking systems, legislation, foreign exchange markets, financial systems, cryptocurrencies and management of disruptive innovations. These courses are mandatory.

The last, elective, part of the program offers the possibility for students with sufficient technological background to expand their technological proficiency in the field of blockchain and digital currencies. Students who lack this technological background have other, more business/management related topics to choose from.

As Ximedes offers you technical solutions for your business needs and wants and Mark Wigmans has a strong background in Computer Science, he will finish his studies with the more technological courses. These include:

• 'Digital Currency Programming' which is about programming Smart Contracts in Ethereum and building applications with the Bitcoin blockchain;
• 'Blockchain Technology and Applications' where the different aspects of blockchains and existing platforms are studied.
• 'Cryptographic Systems Security' where the security aspects of current blockchains are studied, in particular, Bitcoin and Ripple.

The total MSc study takes 1.5 years to finish, added to the MOOC 'Introduction to Digital Currencies' of 3 months. Mark Wigmans is progressing at speed through his studies, successfully combining his regular work for our clients with his studies. He will finish the program in May 2018. Then he will be one of only a few in the world with a Master degree in this new disruptive technology. Ximedes is proud of this achievement. We are always on the lookout for technological innovations that can help you and your business to achieve your goals. If you are interested in blockchain technology and what it can do for your organisation, please let us know.