Internet of Services Foundation Partners with UNIC’s Institute For the Future to Empower Women in Blockchain

The partnership aims to support, promote, and inspire female leads in the blockchain space, offering annual endowed studentships to the University of Nicosia’s leading MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency.

NICOSIA, CYPRUS—December 2021. The Institute For the Future (IFF) – University of Nicosia (UNIC) and the Internet of Services Foundation (IOST) are delighted to announce a scholarship programme to empower Women in Blockchain, through which an annual cohort of talented, and motivated candidates will have the opportunity to pursue the University’s leading Masters programme in the field. The partnership kicks off with two (2) endowed studentships over a two (2) year period, with the option to increase the number of students sponsored per year as of the next intake to UNIC’s MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency, in Spring 2022.

The exciting partnership is aimed at fostering the next generation of leaders in the space, with a declared emphasis on supporting and promoting female leads focused on blockchain technology. This aim is in line with IFF’s mission to educate leaders, develop knowledge, and build communities to help society prepare for a future shaped by transformative technologies. At the same time, it aligns with IOST’s unwavering efforts in promoting the education and adoption of blockchain technology.

As part of the agreement, both parties open up the potential to collaborate in other domains of mutual interest, including, but not limited to, the development of educational tech courses and research and development in the field of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT).

“The strategic alliance with the University of Nicosia allows us to further engage in blockchain education and research, which we believe are crucial steps towards wider adoption of blockchain technology. We believe that supporting such initiatives will help attract more talented individuals, who are going to help develop a myriad of interesting solutions and use cases”, said Kudakwashe Samkange, Director of Business Development at the Internet of Services Foundation. “The scholarship programme will contribute to a more inclusive blockchain space, in which there is generally very low representation of women. We would like to be part of resolving that”, concluded Mr. Samkange.

UNIC previously made headlines when it became the first university in the world to accept cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) for tuition payment. Indeed, UNIC is a world leader in crypto and blockchain education and research, having been the first university in the world to offer a degree in the field, as well as the world’s first massive open online course (MOOC) focused on blockchain, which to date has seen almost 65,000 students enroll from over 110 countries. UNIC was also the first university to offer a MOOC on Decentralized Finance (DeFi) in 2021. Most recently, the University launched the UNIC Open Metaverse Initiative, focused on the academic, research and policy issues relating to the metaverse, with a particular emphasis on open public systems and standards. This ties in with UNIC’s launch earlier this year of a robust and defensible methodology for calculating Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market capitalizations on an ecosystem basis with the proposal of NFTValuations.

“We have proudly been at the forefront of blockchain research and education, as attested to by our engagement and offering”, underlined Dr. Klitos Christodoulou, Research Manager at IFF. “An intricate part of that is connecting with likeminded leaders in the space to expand accessibility and inspire engagement. The partnership with IOST represents just that, expressly reflecting our commitment, via annual endowed studentships, to support, promote, and inspire female leads in the blockchain space”, concluded Dr. Christodoulou.

Contact & Application Process

Step1: Register your interest for the MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency program

Step2: Complete your application to the MSc – UNIC enrollment team will reach out and guide you on the required documents and process.

Step3: Complete the IOST scholarship application, select “IOST Women in Blockchain Scholars”

Important Notes:

• IOST encourages females (inclusive of transgender applicants) to apply.
• IOST Scholars application deadline: 17 January, 2022
• IOST Scholars recipient selection: 19 January, 2022
• MSc programme start date: 31 January, 2022

For more information on enrollments and/or any queries regarding the UNIC-IOST Scholarship Programme, please contact: Hazal Aripinar, Business Development and Enrollment Manager at IFF [email protected]