Ripple to invest in the University of Texas at Austin, which will the first university to receive fund, over next five years in schools’ blockchain technology research.

Ripple to Support Blockchain Research Initiative

The Daily Texan post reported that the San-Francisco based DLT startup, Ripple is assured to invest $2 million for next five years in University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business to support its Blockchain Research Initiative.

Ripple’s senior vice president of global operations, Eric van Miltenburg said,

“Academia has traditionally been a critical driver of technical innovation. Our support of McCombs is an acknowledgment of the important role the school has the potential to play in advancing our understanding and application of cryptography and blockchain technology”.

As previously reported, Ripple funding is a part of the $50 million to invest in the blockchain research by several universities including MIT, Princeton University, and other 14 institutions.

The blockchain is the process where confidential information and records are stored in a digital network in a secure way. It requires the consents of a user in order to access the data.

Moreover, the Blockchain Initiative is a program within McCombs that adopts blockchain technology innovations and researches. It was first initiated when McCombs hosted Blockchain conference in 2018. At the conference, the school brought 300 people including Ripple representative, students, and faculty from different universities.

The director of Blockchain Initiative, Cesare Fracassi said;

“That was the catalyst for really seeing that there was a lot of demand from students and industries and companies. However for having a central focus inside the business school to basically harness the demand for blockchain technology”.

However, the school has not yet planned to direct the received funds, but projects run by both faculty and graduate students will receive funding the program.

Fracassi said;

“Not only the business school but other branches will be able to participate as well. For example, the medical school expressed interest in blockchain research”.

Significantly, the main intention of Blockchain Initiative is to support faculty and graduate students in blockchain research stream. The initiative also facilitates relations with blockchain technology and media organizations.