Global Blockchain Colloquium 2021 organized by MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence

India is inching closer to regulating cryptocurrencies within its borders. And soon the phased implementation strategy for central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be rolled out. MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence, a flagship initiative of MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune, concluded its 3-day Global Blockchain Colloquium on August 9, 2021. This is the largest blockchain colloquium ever held in an online mode addressed by 22+ international blockchain experts, and industry leaders to discuss the latest hot spots, use cases, tips, trends, insights and technological frontiers of blockchain technology.

The Valedictory keynote sessions were graced by Mr. Anthony Day – Blockchain Leader, Global Business Services, IBM Ireland, Mr. Andrea Frosinini- Senior Enterprise Analyst & Trade Finance Evangelist, Italy, Mr. Prasanna Lohar– Head Digital Innovation & Architecture, DCB Bank, Dr. Mohit Dubey -CEO, AIC-MITADT Incubator Forum, Prof. Dr. Atul Patil – Director, MIT School of Holistic Development and Prof. Suraj Bhoyar – Project Director, MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence, MIT ADT University, Pune, India.

MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence had organised the Global Blockchain Colloquium in association with India Blockchain Forum, Global Blockchain Business Council, & AIC-MITADT Incubator Forum from August 7 to 9, 2021. The Global Blockchain Colloquium was co-hosted by Blockchain ThinkLab of University at Buffalo, DCB Bank, Association for Emerging Technologies, IDEALABS Future Tech Ventures, EarthID, Stezy.io, SettleMint, Snapper FutureTech, Future Money WALLET and Aurigraph.io. The Global Blockchain Colloquium was an exemplary 3-day conclave on the most quintessential concepts related to Blockchain, Crypto, Tokens and Cybersecurity. Over a period of three days, the colloquium captivated the participants from over 21+ countries around the world. The colloquium is among the first of many efforts to transform India into a global blockchain powerhouse. The international event, one of its own kind, witnessed around 500+ blockchain enthusiasts including UG & PG Students, research scholars, faculty members, startup owners, and industry professionals.

The Global Blockchain Colloquium was aimed at bringing thought-provoking conversations on blockchain for enterprises, next generation financial services, developing blockchain applications, decentralized applications, and decentralized finance (DeFi), digital identity, sustainability & blockchain technologies for Central Bank Digital Currency, blockchain for trade finance, and blockchain platforms.

“MIT Art, Design & Technology University, Pune, India has always been a flag-bearer of engineering and technology in the country and has been at the forefront of offering innovative & industry relevant programmes including disruptive technologies,” said Prof. Dr. Mangesh Karad, Executive President & Vice Chancellor. “Continuing this tradition, we have also been deeply involved in blockchain, AI & ML, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Robotic Process Automation development & have been fostering a powerful support ecosystem across India“, he said.

Global Blockchain Leader & Digital Strategist, Mr. Anthony Day congratulated & appreciated the endeavours by the MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence for organising this one of its own kind Global Blockchain Colloquium during the valedictory address. He shared his insights on use cases for accelerating post-pandemic transformation in supply chain, identity & sustainability. He also expressed his best wishes to MIT-ADT University that had taken up the mammoth task of promoting future skills for today’s and future generation.

Mr. Andrea Frosinini from Hyperledger TF-SIG deliberately answered how blockchain can be applied in an effective and cost-efficient way within trade finance. He said, “Blockchain technology holds the potential to change business processes by redefining value chain interactions, reducing operational complexity, and reducing transaction costs.”

Mr. Prasanna Lohar, Head Digital Innovation &Architecture, DCB Bank pointed out that the journey of emerging technologies is going really at a very fast pace in India. He reiterated, “Along with educational giants like MIT-ADT University, we are looking forward to taking the first step, i.e. creating a superior curriculum for a better ecosystem for emerging technologies and specifically in blockchain technology. He complimented the team MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence (MIT-FuSE) for bringing the Global Blockchain Colloquium 2021 with more synergy & relevant keynote sessions for the common benefit of global workplaces, as well as challenges in emerging technology for generation Z.

Dr. Mohit Dubey, CEO-AIC MITADT Incubator Forum stated, “Thanks to Fintech, technologies speak for finances, and innovations are only the beginning. Fintech is disrupting nearly every area of startups & businesses. A future where AI-boosted investment and advising platforms, blockchain-technology-enabled cryptocurrencies, are prevalent in every area of commerce and finance might be a way off.” He pointed out that the time was right for sessions like these to create awareness in these emerging technologies and congratulated MIT-FuSE on its 3-day exclusive deliberations. This would shape up the future generation and economy.

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Blockchain is not new to India. It is being highlighted more with the introduction of e-RUPI & CBDC. India has a lot to gain from embracing blockchain technology and exploring it further. The first pre-requisite is creation of new career opportunities. Considerable job growth has been seen for positions like Blockchain Developers & Blockchain Architects in government agencies and other sectors such as retail, eCommerce, supply chain management, healthcare, education, agriculture, banking, etc. Blockchain developers can earn more than 50% than the other jobs in the IT market today. It means that there are innumerable high-paying jobs from all over the world now available to Indian developers in blockchain technology.

Prof. Suraj Bhoyar, Project Director summarised the gist of the sessions which were conducted over the period of three days. He specified that MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence is connecting and aligning with leading industries with the sole purpose of providing students and working professionals from all walks of the life, access to quality education and industry-relevant curriculum to ensure that they succeed in their careers. As the first step towards this, MIT Centre for Future Skills Excellence will be commencing with its Post Graduate Programme in Blockchain Technology soon. He said, “We are so humbled and overwhelmed by the huge response to this GBC 2021. And we had a great time interacting with the participants from countries like USA, England, Singapore, Switzerland, Nigeria, Morocco, Cyprus, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Israel, etc.”

The colloquium highlighted the latest& upcoming trends in the blockchain industry, provided an opportunity to meet industry leaders, helped to network with like-minded people & observed collaboration opportunities. The participants had a great fortune to listen to the distinguished keynote speakers across the globe on topics like viz. Blockchain Technology -Implementation & Governance, Blockchain Platforms, Digital Identity with KYC-Use Cases, Sustainability with Blockchain, Blockchain & Decentralized Applications, Crypto Metrics, Indexes & Stacks, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), Blockchain Platforms as a Service, Global View of blockchain use-cases, Blockchain Reality vs Hype, Blockchain and Security, Decentralized Finance (DeFi),How Blockchain and Trade Finance delivering Global Solutions, Enterprise Blockchain for use cases in Supply Chain, Identity and Sustainability.