Global tech giant IBM has entered a partnership a Russian metal producer to launch an educational program in blockchain, local news agency TASS reports June 6.

Nornickel, a Moscow-based globally leading producer of nickel and palladium, has signed an agreement with IBM and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) to set up a study and training center for specialists to develop digital technologies for the mining and metals industry.

According to the report, the agreement was signed on June 6 at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum by Nornickel’s VP Sergey Batehin, IBM’s general manager in Russia and CIS countries Iris Dzeba, and the MIPT’s rector Nikolay Kudryavtsev.

The main challenges for the upcoming MIPT-based educational center include student training, research and development of digital ecosystems in fields including blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT).

The university will reportedly prepare and launch master’s and postgraduate programs, with the first students in the “blockchain” major expected to start their studies in the fall of 2019.

Recently, Dublin City University partnered with tech firm Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet to launch the first master’s program in blockchain technology in Ireland.

Earlier in May, the Maltese government awarded blockchain scholarships to 19 students worth a total of $179,000, to be applied to a master's degree in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.