This week we spoke with Fabian Mösli, Project Manager for the University of Basel project that went to mainnet on September 19th. He talks about Proxeus, BlockFactory and the challenges of managing crypto projects.

How long have you been working in crypto?

Precisely as long as I have been working for BlockFactory: about half a year. I had been thinking about working in crypto quite a bit before that, but I was waiting for the right opportunity. It was important to me to participate in a project that I truly believed in and solved a problem I could identify with. For example, there is an excellent blockchain project that solves the problem of counterfeit sand. Personally, I have never had problems with counterfeit sand, but I have had problems with the digitisation of business processes. I believe BlockFactory can truly make a difference with the Proxeus software framework and its blockchain knowledge.

What’s your favorite thing about working in blockchain?

The blockchain industry is still at an early stage and is changing at a breathtaking pace. Our currently preferred blockchain, Ethereum, will undergo major changes in the near future. What does this mean for the ecosystem, what does it mean for us? I follow all of this with great interest. For sure, blockchain is by far the most dynamic technology I have ever worked with. Very exciting stuff.

What do you think of the Proxeus project?

Personally, I would like to develop as deep an understanding of blockchain technology as possible. But I do realize that I’m part of a tiny minority. Most people don’t care how a technology works in detail. They want to know what the advantages are and how they can use them. If it is too complicated to take advantage of the benefits, they prefer to stick to what they already know. For this reason I fear that the majority of blockchain products will have a very difficult time on the market.

Proxeus has understood that the blockchain must make the lives of its users better and — above all — easier. I look forward to using this framework; to taking it to our customers and help them massively simplify even their most tedious processes.

Any unique challenges to PMing a crypto project?

In principle, it’s like any software development project. However, we have an even broader range of stakeholders and everything is a bit crazier. The crypto scene is still in full Wild West mode. People are obsessed with finding and supporting great projects. I can understand the fascination, I myself have added over two dozen crypto-currencies and project tokens to my humble portfolio. However, some token buyers have strange ideas about how quickly such a project needs to make progress. The pressure on us is enormous. As a project manager, I feel this pressure every day.

How does it feel, knowing the University of Basel project has gone live?

We partnered up with the Center for Innovative Finance of the University of Basel to develop a system that enables the university to register course certificates with the Ethereum blockchain. It’s quite normal nowadays for students to send a digital application to potential future employers, but if the recruiters want to verify the academic credentials, they still have to call or mail the university. With our new solution, the recruiters can simply verify diplomas on the university’s website. This shortcut is just as valuable to the university as it is to the recruiters, it saves both parties a lot of time and is available 24/7. It makes me quite happy to know that we have paved the way for “better” university diplomas. It’s great to see that Swiss universities are not afraid to explore the blockchain technology. I would be very surprised if blockchain-certified diplomas wouldn’t become the standard within a few years.

What’s your favourite story from a project?

The last six months have been full of good stories. We work hard, make mistakes, learn from them and become better and better. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite out of all the experiences. My favorite story will be the successful delivery of the entire scope of the Proxeus white paper. This is what we work for every day.

Have you tested the beta?

Writing the concept paper for the external storage module for the Proxeus framework was my first big task when I joined BlockFactory. Together with the team, I designed how the dApp, the smart contract and the server app would work together. So yes, I have tested every single version our devs ever built. There are lots of things I’d like to add or improve, but I hope our community out there enjoys using the beta version.