Blockchain Innovation at HBCUs Facilitated by Ripple’s UBRI
In a significant step toward fostering blockchain innovation, Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) has played a critical role in establishing a critical foundation and learning environment for the next generation of blockchain engineers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
UBRI’s impact on blockchain education
Over the past six years, UBRI has set the standard for blockchain education, research, and inclusive economic growth. With more than 50 university partners in 26 countries, the initiative has contributed to more than 600 new or expanded fintech courses and more than 1,500 academic blockchain research projects.
In a recent development, UBRI renewed its $1.05 million partnership with Morgan State University. This partnership builds on the initiative’s initial work with universities and demonstrates UBRI’s commitment to supporting blockchain innovators across America’s HBCUs. This funding will lead to the creation of new programming and research opportunities for students and faculty.
Partnership Highlights
Eric van Miltenburg, SVP Strategic Initiatives at Ripple, emphasized the importance of the partnership, saying that HBCUs on the UBRI network are driving the growing interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain knowledge. He expressed excitement about his prospects for how Morgan State will empower students and launch ambitious projects that will diversify the XRP Ledger ecosystem in the future.
The collaboration between Morgan State and UBRI, which began in 2018, has strengthened technological bandwidth, set new standards of academic excellence, and fostered a culture of innovation. This partnership has resulted in innovative programming, such as the student-led MorganHacks, which this year drew approximately 150 students from seven HBCUs and featured the XRP Ledger (XRPL) Workshop and Ripple’s Financial Challenge Statement.
future prospects
With this latest investment, Morgan State aims to strengthen these efforts, engage other HBCUs, and combine collaborative research with real-world applied learning opportunities. The goal is to foster a pipeline of diverse, skilled, and highly trained professionals ready to excel in enterprise blockchain operations. Proposed activities include cutting-edge research efforts, faculty-led projects that intersect blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML), XRPL development workshops and programs, and an annual national blockchain and fintech conference.
UBRI’s role in the future of finance and technology
As blockchain continues to thrive within academia, UBRI plans to expand its support for groundbreaking research, technology development, and innovation in blockchain and cryptocurrencies on campuses around the world. Our new partnership with Morgan State will help develop a new group of leaders with the knowledge and skills to navigate the evolving digital economy and ensure HBCUs remain at the forefront of innovation.
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