China’s first batch of blockchain graduates will begin their courses later this year, but will not complete their studies until 2024 – with a leading expert warning that the academic sector is “seriously lagging” behind industrial demand.
Per Mars Finance, the head of the Digital Economy Development Research Center at the Beijing-based Communication University of China told reporters at Baidu’s latest Superchain whitepaper press conference that Chinese blockchain industry is developing fast – and that the education sector is failing to keep up.
Much has been made in the country about the new Chengdu University of Information Technology-run Blockchain Engineering undergrad course, announced in March 2020. Enrollment is currently complete, and the first students will begin their academic journeys when the Chinese academic year begins in September.
However, the first batch of undergraduate students will not complete their courses at Chengdu until 2024.
Other universities in the country have also opened blockchain units, including Shanghai’s Fudan University, which unveiled a blockchain research center last year.
Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics all offer postgrad courses or modules in blockchain-related subjects – but China is keen to develop more specialists to power skyrocketing blockchain demand. As such, education chiefs are hopeful that more universities will follow suit with more blockchain options for undergrad students.
As reported, blockchain salaries are surging in the Middle Kingdom, with some posts offering starting salaries that are around 2.5 times the average wage for office workers in most of China’s major cities.
Experienced blockchain devs can expect to rake in up to USD 7,000 a month at top Chinese companies – although many firms are struggling to find enough talent to fill the jobs they post.
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