MIT Media Lab announces course 'to Inspire Next Generation of Bitcoin CEOs'

Not to be left behind by Stanford, MIT Media Lab has announced its own course to inspire the "next generation" of bitcoin talent, according to a latest report by CoinDesk.

MIT will join other universities, including Stanford, putting bitcoin into the classroom. This is being facilitated by the partnership between its Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) and Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program.

The Massachusetts University has been a hub of extra-curricular bitcoin activity with various  contests and events including the MIT Bitcoin Project's $500,000 giveaway in the currency - $100 for every student on campus.

The course, to commence from next semester, is open to all students at MIT and those cross-registered from institutions around the Boston area, the report said.

David Shrier, a lecturer at the Media Lab and one of the key people behind the programme, said the course will study topics ranging from e-commerce to market systems.

"Our course will provide students with a broad perspective on what's going on, where success and failure has struck, and what the future looks like from various angles", he added.

It will be headed by serial entrepreneur and well-known computer scientist Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, along with DCI director Brian Forde, an ex-White House advisor hoping to "mainstream" blockchain technology.

MIT Media Lab, which also supports several bitcoin core developers, will also be offering a "highly technical" course around coding the blockchain, Shrier said.