Deputy Vice Chancellor (Business & Law) and Vice-President Professor Julie Cogin said the investment highlighted RMIT’s leading role in the industry.
“Our academics are at the forefront of shaping the blockchain industry internationally, as well as preparing our students with the digital skills of tomorrow,” Cogin said.
"This investment demonstrates RMIT's reputation for providing high quality, industry responsive programs and research relevant to the national and global market place and builds on our proud history of developing the person, leader and enterprise with the knowledge and skills they require for a sustainable and fair future.”
Blockchain Innovation Hub co-director Dr Chris Berg said Australia had a unique opportunity to shape the future blockchain economy.
“As the world’s first dedicated social science research centre into blockchain technology, the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub is leading the way in both research and education,” Berg said.
“Our goal is to ensure that Australian students are ready for life in the blockchain economy and that Australian research makes its mark in this incredibly exciting space.”
Blockchain technology is predicted to generate an annual business value of over US$175 billion by 2025 and more than US$3 trillion by 2030.
A transparent and decentralised way of recording lists of transactions, blockchain has the potential to automate and remove the need for the institutions and services that underpin our lives.
While commonly known as the technology that created the digital currency Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it has far wider application such as managing supply chains, protecting health data, and for deploying social services.
It also paves the way for ‘smart contracts’, programmed to perform a transaction automatically, with blockchain technology set to bring about significant economic and social change.
In 2018, RMIT launched Australia’s first university short course on blockchain strategy in response to the growing importance of blockchain as an emerging industry.
Story: Diana Robertson
