Short Term Courses: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency & FinTech

The future of finance is being engineered today. Like other forms of 21st-century infrastructure, finance is undergirded by technology, and that technology is continually evolving. Adoption has been relatively quick: less than a decade ago, every article about Bitcoin included a lengthy (and often inaccurate) explainer on what a blockchain was, often footnoted with extreme skepticism; today, the term blockchain stands alone, and the technology has broad governmental support.

Blockchain has a wide array of applications. And, like other financial tools, there is plenty of room for misuse. The average person on the street today may understand blockchain in a rudimentary way, but they’re probably more aware of blockchain (really, cryptocurrency) as a vehicle for scams than they are of blockchain’s ability to facilitate efficient, transparent, and fraud-proof record-keeping.

Especially when it comes to cryptocurrency, there’s still a lot of noise out there, and a huge gap in public knowledge remains. What makes a stablecoin like Circle’s USDC more robust than the epic fraud of Terra’s UST? How is something like Ethereum different from a celebrity’s memecoin? What secures bitcoin transactions, and are those transactions public or private? How is any of this useful in the real world?

The answers to those questions are relatively simple, but the rabbit hole of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and fintech goes very deep. This is the frontier of finance, and it’s evolving in real time, necessitating education that builds specific skills quickly rather than through two- to four-year degree programs. In a matter of weeks, specially designed short courses give students the opportunity to get up to speed on the fundamentals of, or a particular area in, blockchain, cryptocurrency, or fintech.

To break it down: blockchain is a distributed database that records transactions (not necessarily financial) and may execute smart contracts, a cryptocurrency is a financial instrument built upon a blockchain; and fintech is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of financial technology tools. There’s often overlap between the three areas. (Some short course programs, wary of the way cryptocurrency’s image fluctuates with market conditions, use the more agnostic label of fintech to cover areas that include blockchain and cryptocurrency.)

Markets fluctuate up and down. Bad actors act badly. But the frontier of finance will continue to include blockchain, cryptocurrency, and other forms of fintech. To learn more about short courses that can get you up to speed, or take you all the way down the rabbit hole, read on.

Meet the Expert: Christian Catalini, PhD

Dr. Christian Catalini is the founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics LAB and a research scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also the faculty director of MIT Sloan’s short course in blockchain technologies. He was a co-creator of Diem (formerly Libra), chief economist of the Diem Association, and head economist of Meta Fintech.

Dr. Catalini’s research focuses on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management and an MSc in economics and management of New Technologies from Bocconi University, Milan.

Dr. Catalini’s research has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, WIRED, Nature, Science, and elsewhere. He has presented his work at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and other academic institutions, as well as the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, the SEC, and the CFTC, the World Bank, and the IMF.

OnlineEngineeringPrograms.com: What’s something you wish the public understood about blockchain today?

Dr. Catalini: I wish people understood that blockchain is quietly rewiring the entire payments and financial services industry from the background—not through hype, but by providing better infrastructure and tooling. Most people will benefit from it without ever knowing it’s there, the same way they don’t think about the protocols underlying the internet.

OnlineEngineeringPrograms.com: Do you have any advice for students and professionals aspiring to learn more about blockchain?

Dr. Catalini: Start with the fundamentals and seek out rigorous, credible sources. At MIT, we’ve been developing blockchain content and materials since 2013, and our online classes have reached hundreds of CEOs, company leaders, policymakers, regulators, and builders.

The field rewards people who understand both the technology and the economics behind it—so don’t just learn how it works; learn why it matters.

Featured Short Term Courses: Blockchain

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management – GetSmarter

The MIT Sloan School of Management offers a short online course titled “Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application” in collaboration with GetSmarter. The program is ideal for business leaders and managers interested in how blockchain can be applied in practice within their organizations. No prior technical knowledge of the subject is required.

Course content includes videos, study notes, and discussion forums for students to collaborate. Spread over six modules, the course serves as an excellent primer to blockchain technology and its uses. Students will gain a deeper understanding of blockchain and its business applications, develop a blockchain-based strategy to address a business challenge in the industry, and learn how blockchain lowers the costs of verification and networking.

On completion of the course, students will get a certificate from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Location: Cambridge, MA
Accreditation: New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Format: Online
Program length: Six weeks; five to eight hours per week

Featured Short Term Courses: Cryptocurrency

Princeton University – Coursera

Princeton University offers the online course “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies” in collaboration with Coursera. The course is taught by Arvind Narayanan, a professor of computer science at Princeton and the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy. The coursework is ideal for software developers looking to work in blockchain, as well as anyone with an inclination to learn more about cryptocurrencies.

The syllabus is spread over two weeks of study, and includes 11 modules. Topics covered include: decentralization; Bitcoin mining; Bitcoin and anonymity; altcoins and the cryptocurrency ecosystem; and community, politics, and regulation.

At the end of the course, students will have a thorough understanding of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and be able to utilize the lessons learned in their own projects and initiatives.

Location: Princeton, NJ
Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Format: Online
Program length: Two weeks; ten hours per week

Featured Short Term Courses: FinTech

Harvard University – GetSmarter

Harvard University offers an online short course titled “Fintech” in collaboration with GetSmarter. The course examines real life challenges as well as upcoming developments in financial technology. The instructors for the course are professor Lauren Cohen, who teaches business administration, and professor Christopher Malloy, who teaches financial management./p>

The program is ideal for business decision-makers, financial professionals, and senior management professionals wanting to interpret and respond to the transformed financial services industry. Students who wish to understand financial innovation and strategy in the field can also take up the course.

The coursework includes video lectures, infographics, case studies, course notes, and other e-learning activities. The curriculum is divided into six modules, which introduce students to the restructuring of the payments industry, raising money with fintech, harnessing data with AI and machine learning, demystifying blockchain, demystifying cryptocurrencies and CBDCs, and forging the future of fintech. Students will also have the option of a final week for sharing capstone project presentations. Students will earn a digital certificate upon completion of the course.

Location: Cambridge, MA
Accreditation: New England Commission of Higher Education
Format: Online
Program length: Six weeks; eight to ten hours per week

Duke University – Coursera

Duke University offers the open online course “FinTech Law and Policy” through Coursera. The course explores the policies and frameworks governing cryptocurrencies, bitcoins, and other financial technology in the US. Led by Lee Reiners, an executive director at Duke University, the program is ideal for working professionals in the financial services industry.

The course comprises six modules: orientation; the relationship between fintech, regulators, and traditional finance; cryptocurrency and ICOs; fintech lending; banking regulation in the US; and fintech payments, wealth management, and account aggregation. The coursework provides students with a complete overview of financial technology in the US, including its regulators, vulnerabilities, and challenges. The course is a valuable resource for finance professionals. Graduates receive a certificate that can be added to their professional profiles online.

Location: Durham, North Carolina
Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Format: Online
Program length: One week; ten hours per weeks

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – Coursera

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology offers the short course “FinTech Foundations and Overview.” As a part of the fintech: finance industry transformation and regulation specialization, it is offered in collaboration with Coursera. The instructor for the course is Dr. Theodore H. K. Clark, an associate professor of information systems, business statistics, and operations management at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Anyone seeking to develop fintech skills can benefit from the course.

The coursework has been divided into four modules: introduction; fintech business applications; the tech of fintech; and fintech implications for established businesses. Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to examine the present and future of financial technology, learn about cryptocurrencies, big data, and analytics, and explore global trends in fintech. The course also provides students with a certificate of completion that they can add to their resume.

Location: Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
Accreditation: Education Bureau
Format: Online
Program length: Two weeks; ten hours per week

University of Cape Town – Coursera

The University of Cape Town offers a short course titled “Financial Regulation in Emerging Markets and the Rise of Fintech Companies.” The primary focus of the course is on regulations around fintech in emerging economies such as China and South Africa.

Offered in collaboration with Coursera, the course is taught by Co-Pierre Georg, an associate professor with AIFMRM, the African Institute of Financial Markets and Risk Management at the University of Cape Town. There are no special prerequisites to the course, and it can be taken by anyone with an interest in finance.

The course comprises four modules: financial crises; post-crisis regulations; fintech regulation in emerging markets; and rise in fintech companies. At the end of the course, students will also receive a certificate.

Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Accreditation: Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa
Format: Online
Program length: One week; ten hours per week

The University of Hong Kong – edX

The University of Hong Kong offers the open online course “Introduction to FinTech” as a part of the fintech professional certificate program. It is offered in collaboration with edX, an online course provider. The faculty for the course includes renowned practitioners and academics in finance, international business, technology, and law. The program is ideal for those working in finance, technology, regulation, or fintech.

The course curriculum consists of six modules: defining fintech; payments, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain; digital finance and alternative finance; fintech regulation and regtech; data and fintech; and the future of data-driven finance. Students who complete the course receive the “Certified FinTech Professional” qualification through the Global Academy of Finance and Management (GAFM).

Location: Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
Accreditation: Education Bureau
Format: Online
Program length: Six weeks; one to three hours per week

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Farheen Gani has researched a wide array of topics related to engineering since 2018. She has written about electrical and computer engineering programs, structural engineering programs, mechanical engineer salaries, environmental engineering programs, and many other subfields of engineering. She...

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Matt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about a wide range of engineering disciplines, with a particular focus on the potential impacts of major technological breakthroughs. His work largely centers around conversations with engineeri...

Short Term Courses: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency & FinTech

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Meet the Expert: Christian Catalini, PhD

Featured Short Term Courses: Blockchain

Featured Short Term Courses: Cryptocurrency

Featured Short Term Courses: FinTech

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