Blockchain startup Ripple, in collaboration with leading universities, has announced a new initiative to support and accelerate academic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments.

Ripple on Monday announced the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) and has committed over $50 million in funding, subject matter expertise and technical resources to UBRI’s first wave of university partners. The initial university partners include:

Australian National University College of the Law, CITP at Princeton, CSAIL at MIT, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil), Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, IIT Bombay, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H), Korea University, McCombs School of Business, UT-Austin, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The University of Pennsylvania, UCL (University College London), University of Luxembourg, University of Nicosia (Cyprus), University of Oregon, and University of Waterloo

These academic institutions will collaborate with Ripple on research and technical development, as well as creating new curriculum focused on blockchain, cryptocurrency and other FinTech topics. Ripple listed some these efforts:

• Princeton University will create an UBRI program that will study the policy impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the U.S. and around the world.
• Delft University of Technology and the University of Luxembourg are building a new blockchain research programs
• As part of UBRI, Ripple is also participating in MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab’s new FinTech initiative focused on like blockchain, cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity and global payments.
• At The University of Pennsylvania, the initiative is supporting select MBA-MS candidates each year in a newly established Wharton-Engineering dual-degree program.

“The University Blockchain Research Initiative is an acknowledgment of the vital importance of the unique role universities will play in advancing our understanding and application of cryptography and blockchain technology. It also speaks to the reality that university graduates will fuel a continually evolving and maturing financial marketplace and workforce,” said Eric van Miltenburg, SVP of Global Operations at Ripple.