Description

Approach: Use a combination of definitions, narrative-storytelling, role-playing, and a few R commands to introduce key blockchain concepts/foundational knowledge that students need to understand to evaluate the implications of blockchain for business and the economy/society in general.

Topics:

1. Why the need to understand blockchain? Provide a high-level review of  news stories regarding the business implications of blockchain.

2. Blockchain foundational knowledge: Introduce key concepts (e.g., time-stamped transactions, genesis block, hash, proof-of-work, cryptocurrencies) and use storytelling, role-playing, and a few R commands to better understand these concepts.

3. Is blockchain a practical businesses solution? Create a 2x2 classification of blockchains (permissionless vs. permissioned and cryptocurrency based vs. non-cryptocurrency based). Find examples in each quadrant and consider pros and cons given different business settings.

4. Hyperledger-Fabric foundational knowledge needed to understand some of the most prominent business cases (e.g., supply chain for food safety and provenance of diamonds).

5. Blockchain business models.

6. Initial Coin Offerings and token economy.

7. Current state of blockchain adoption?

Learning Objectives: Given blockchain’s potential to transform business and entire industries, business students need to understand blockchain to make better business decisions.  By the end of this workshop attendees should be able to do the following:

1. Explain in plain English blockchain foundational concepts.

2. Acquire the blockchain foundational knowledge needed to form an opinion regarding the implications of blockchain for business and the economy/society in general.

 

Facilitating individuals, their institutions and contact emails

Theo Stratopoulos

PwC Chair – Associate Professor of Information Systems

School of Accounting and Finance

University of Waterloo

tstratopoulos@uwaterloo.ca