Today, on 17th July, Columbia University and IBM have announced a new research Center, run by joint forces of the two organizations. The new institute will be devoted to research, education, and innovation in blockchain technology and data transparency. The technical giant and one of the world’s leading research universities have shared the 70 years history of collaboration. The new research center falls in line of the IBM’s strong presence in the blockchain industry.

The facility is aimed at facilitating the research towards compelling new applications for the distributed ledger technology. The center will work with cross-disciplinary teams from the academic, scientific, business and government communities. The academic and technical expertise renown in both organizations will be used for conducting new research, building new technical solutions, advising on the policy and regulatory frameworks related to data transparency practices. Furthermore, the initiative includes an educational aspect, the center indicated plans for blockchain-oriented curriculum, innovation incubator for the community-led startups.

Starting today the center has officially started operating. The facility is located on the Manhattan campus of the university. Working together with the IBM specialists and learning from the company’s experience in implementation of blockchain solutions on the enterprise level, the students of Columbia will strengthen and expand professional skills so needed for further technology innovation and more widespread adoption of Blockchain and similar technologies. John H. Coatsworth, Columbia University Provost, said “We anticipate that, through this partnership, we will significantly advance scholarship and applications of data-sharing and data-transparency technologies. The new Center further solidifies New York City as a hub for technical innovation,”

The launch of the research center in partnership with Columbia University has confirmed the IBM’s rising interest in blockchain space. The company is an active contributor to the Hyperledger and Stellar project. The tech giant has certainly recognized the potential of cryptocurrencies too. Teaming up with the Stellar startup, IBM is exploring the possibilities of the distributed payment infrastructure across borders. In addition to that, IBM recently indicated that their team began testing a stable coin equivalent to US dollar based on the Stellar Lumens network. The technology giant also developed the technical side for a trade finance blockchain platform used by 8 major European banks.

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