A look at the current status of China’s blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching research

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16 universities have launched/pre-launched 20 blockchain credit courses; 27 universities have set up 33 related laboratories.

Original title: “China Blockchain Education and Talent Development Report (2020)”
Author: Li Xin This article is the first part of the report

Summary of the report:

  1. According to incomplete statistics from the Zero One Think Tank, as of the end of November 2020, 32 domestic colleges and universities have carried out blockchain teaching research. Among them, 16 universities have launched/pre-launched 20 credit courses; 27 universities have set up 33 laboratories.
  2. Compared with October 2019, enterprises’ requirements for talents’ academic qualifications have declined. In November 2020, companies require the undergraduate rate of blockchain talents (Note: only for undergraduates, excluding masters and Ph.Ds) at 51.74%, a decrease of 10.84% ​​compared to the previous one. The average undergraduate salary is 24,700 yuan/month, which is about 1,000 yuan less than before.
  3. According to the sample data, technical management talents are “hotly praised”, and at least one of the five recruits is a manager. Compared with October 2019, legal affairs, finance, personnel, risk control, and media positions provide a significant reduction in the proportion of management positions. Among them, the media does not provide management positions for the time being.
  4. In October 2019, a large number of companies recruited were mainly small and micro enterprises, and most of the companies were newly established. In 2020, companies that need more talents will be larger, such as the Central Bank Research Institute, Tencent, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Qulian, and Baidu. Among the listed companies, more giants have joined the block chain “grab people” battle.

In 2020, the central bank’s digital currency will be piloted for the first time in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and other places. As the pilot work continues to accelerate, application scenarios have gradually diversified, and the number of participating cities has increased to more than 20. The talent gap in the corresponding chain needs to be filled urgently. At the same time, the central bank is also increasing its research investment in the blockchain field. In November 2020, the People’s Bank of China Financial Technology Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as the “Central Bank Research Institute”) recruited a large number of high-paying blockchain talents to support the central bank’s digital currency development. Try it out.

The establishment and research of the public’s awareness of blockchain technology in my country began around 2013. At that time, affected by the financial crisis, domestic investors used Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset allocation, and academia began to conduct in-depth research on it. In addition to publishing journals and papers, domestic universities have also successively opened blockchain elective courses or set up laboratories. According to the incomplete statistics of 01 Blockchain and Zero One Think Tank, the Central University of Finance and Economics has launched a blockchain credit course in 2016 and is the first university in China to set up a blockchain credit course. As of the end of November 2020, 32 domestic colleges and universities have carried out blockchain teaching research.

Due to the existence cycle of education (such as four years of university and two to three years of master’s degree), it is difficult to “jog in small steps” at the speed of popularization of blockchain education in China, and it is difficult for the industry to “stride forward” in the process of development. Until 2020, there is still a large gap in domestic blockchain talents.

In order to have a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the supply of blockchain talents in 2020, 01 blockchain has conducted relevant data collection and analysis research in conjunction with Zero One Finance, Zero One Think Tank and Digital Asset Research Institute. From the perspective of relevant data and information, as of the end of November 2020, the domestic blockchain industry will mainly provide blockchain education and training services on the talent supply side by universities, institutions, and enterprises to deliver professional talents to the industry; the demand side, 2020 The market recruitment information in November shows that companies still have high standards for blockchain talents.

It should be noted that the information on talent education in Chapter 1 of the report comes from public information and the official website, and the time span is from 2016 to the end of 2020. The data sources for talent recruitment in Chapters 2 and 3 of the report are 51job, Liepin, and China. Third-party recruitment agencies such as hiring and dragging. According to the incomplete statistics of 01 Blockchain and Zero One Think Tank, as of the end of November 2020, more than 50 institutions have provided more than 200 training courses; more than 800 companies have released more than 2,000 (Note: November single month data). Recruitment information related to blockchain.

Analysis of the status quo of my country’s blockchain talent education

In 2020, the local governments of Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Loudi and other local governments have issued a number of policies to support the development of the blockchain industry and accelerate the training and introduction of blockchain talents. The Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China has taken colleges and universities as a base for blockchain academic and technological breakthroughs, and issued the “Blockchain Technology Innovation Action Plan for Colleges and Universities”. With the continuous assistance of the country and localities, blockchain education has gradually entered the fast lane of development.

As a cutting-edge technology, blockchain involves multiple fields such as cryptography, statistics, software programming, and game theory. In the actual application process, relevant talents also need to have relevant knowledge and skills such as finance, law, and English. For the purpose of “personal job adaptation,” blockchain-related education has become increasingly popular. For example, training institutions offer seminars and online education; colleges and universities offer professional courses and laboratories.

36 universities offer blockchain credit courses or laboratories

Considering that universities may rent venues to external institutions, this article strictly defines university data by querying official websites and surveys. Among them, college blockchain courses are defined as compulsory courses or elective courses that require credits, and college laboratories are limited to laboratories or innovation centers established by colleges and departments alone or in cooperation with enterprises.

In 2020, Chengdu University of Information Technology will start enrolling students for the “Blockchain Engineering” major, which is the first undergraduate major approved by the Ministry of Education in the country. According to the person in charge of the school, its courses include blockchain principles, consensus algorithm development, smart contract development, blockchain application development, blockchain algorithm, blockchain platform development, blockchain virtual machine, etc. In addition, the course also combines with enterprises to offer some application courses in the blockchain industry, including finance, supply chain management, public services, medical care, education and employment, etc.

Looking at the overall situation of blockchain courses in colleges and universities, according to the incomplete statistics of 01 blockchain and zero one think tank, as of the end of November 2020, 36 domestic colleges and universities have carried out blockchain teaching research by opening credit courses and laboratories. (see picture 1). Among them, blockchain research in colleges and universities has added the most in 2018. This may be due to the fact that in 2018, the concept of “blockchain” was enthusiastically welcomed by capital, and the number and amount of financing for related companies and projects reached the peak of the 2016-2020 interval. Based on high-level research capabilities and scientific and technological strength, some domestic colleges and universities are favored by enterprises and thus obtain sufficient research funding. Driven by the industry-research linkage effect, 12 blockchain courses and 15 blockchain laboratories were unveiled this year.

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching researchFigure 1: 2011-2020 global blockchain patent applications, source: official website, public information, Zero One Think Tank

Note: Time statistics are based on the specific start time. Among them, Renmin University of China will enroll students in 2020 and start classes in 2021.

Blockchain courses in colleges and universities are mainly electives, concentrated in 2018

Before 2020, most college blockchain courses are elective courses for senior undergraduates and graduate students (note: course credits are generally 2 points). Since 2020, blockchain has gradually become a compulsory course for some colleges and universities, such as the Central University of Finance and Economics. Blockchain majors have appeared in the undergraduate and graduate stages of some universities, such as Chengdu University of Information Technology and Renmin University of China (Note: The first term of the financial technology and blockchain major of Renmin University of China has completed enrollment in 2020, and the courses will be To be carried out in 2021).

In terms of the distribution of professional courses, according to the incomplete statistics of Zero One Think Tank, as of the end of November 2020, a total of 16 colleges and universities have launched/pre-launched 20 credit courses (see Table 1). Except for 2 information courses that are temporarily unavailable, 16 courses are opened for information technology colleges and 2 courses are opened for finance colleges. For technical talents, blockchain is a better employment direction. As the central bank’s digital currency pilot program has expanded from large banks to small and medium-sized banks, the blockchain concept has also begun to accelerate its penetration into the financial sector. The financial departments of major universities are also gradually providing some blockchain popular education, such as Chinese politics and law. University Business School.

In terms of geographical distribution, universities in Beijing offer the most blockchain credit courses. Among them, the Central University of Finance and Economics is the first institution of higher learning to offer blockchain credit courses in the country, and Renmin University of China has newly established a 2021-level blockchain master’s program. In addition to Beijing, colleges and universities in southern Sichuan and northern Shaanxi have intensively opened blockchain courses. However, the block chain education of universities in Shanghai is mainly training, and no credit courses have been launched yet.

In terms of faculty, blockchain education in colleges and universities combines theoretical foundation, technology and practice. Among the 12 blockchain course leaders, 9 are teachers at school, including Zhu Jianmin, Xu Ke, and He Debiao. Pang Yinming, Li Jin and Yu Jianing are executives of blockchain companies.

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching researchTable 1: List of blockchain courses in Chinese universities (incomplete statistics, as of November 30, 2020), data source: school official website, public information, zero one think tank

Note:

  1. Sorted in ascending order by the time the course was opened;
  2. “-” means data is missing.

University blockchain laboratory 6 became the establishment of the Academy of Information Science and Technology, 7 became a school-enterprise cooperation

In May 2020, the “Blockchain Technology Innovation Action Plan for Higher Education Institutions” issued by the Ministry of Education proposed that “by 2025, a number of blockchain technology innovation bases will be established in universities and a group of blockchain technology research teams will be cultivated. “As early as 2015, a group of universities began to build blockchain laboratories. In addition to the “closed” courses on campus, colleges and universities have strengthened the exchanges and cooperation between “industry, university and research” by setting up laboratories or innovation centers. University laboratories are divided into “independent establishment” and “school-enterprise cooperation”. The former is “with the support of the local government and schools, some academic leaders in some universities set up laboratories and invite other majors and universities to jointly research topics.” The latter is that “companies funded by universities to set up laboratories in order to promote brands, attract talents, and share research results. The laboratories are jointly managed by school teachers and corporate executives.” According to the incomplete statistics of 01 Blockchain and Zero One Think Tank, as of the end of November 2020, nearly 7 college laboratories have become school-enterprise cooperation, and the remaining 11 are self-established (see Table 2). Most of the cooperating companies are blockchain leading companies, such as Beijing Zhongxiangbit (note: cooperation with Nanjing University), Zhigui Technology (note: cooperation with Xi’an Jiaotong University), Bitmain (note: cooperation with Tsinghua University), etc. .

In terms of school faculty distribution, about 6 faculties with blockchain laboratories are in technology, more than 2 are in economics and management, and nearly 1 are in law. In terms of the year of establishment, 2018 and 2019 are the peak periods for the establishment of university blockchain laboratories.

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching research

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching research

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching research

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching researchTable 2: List of blockchain laboratories in Chinese universities (incomplete statistics, as of November 30, 2020), data source: school official website, public information, zero one think tank

Note:

  1. Sort in ascending order of the time the laboratory was established;
  2. “-” means data is missing

In the training courses, colleges and universities are mainly offline, and off-campus institutions are mainly charging

At present, in addition to some colleges and universities in our country that provide blockchain courses, training institutions also provide channels for blockchain vocational education. Compared with colleges and universities, the education provided by training institutions has the characteristics of inclusiveness, multiple forms, and strong practicability. According to the different learning venues, we are divided into “university training” and “institutional training”. The former are non-credit courses provided by colleges and universities to teachers, students and members of the public, such as lectures, seminars, MOOCs, etc. The latter is education and training provided by blockchain media or research institutions. Training methods are divided into online or offline, and the types are divided into free or paid (see Figure 2). In addition, different courses have different charging standards, which are quite different.

Blockchain training in colleges and universities generally uses colleges and universities as training bases, with teachers and teaching venues, and training is mainly carried out offline. According to incomplete statistics from Zero One Think Tank, as of the end of November 2020, a total of 24 colleges and universities, including Qingbei resumption of diplomatic relations, Shanghai Finance, and People’s Congress, have provided 31 blockchain training courses. Universities in Shanghai (Note: 6 trainings), Xi’an (Note: 5 trainings), Chongqing (Note: 5 trainings) and Beijing (Note: 4 trainings) regions conduct trainings more frequently. The training courses will be held in 2018 and 2019. Among them, free offline public courses accounted for 48.39%, paid offline training classes accounted for 38.71%, and online free teaching accounted for 12.90%. Online paid courses have not been counted yet.

Blockchain training institutions are generally research institutions affiliated to media or blockchain companies. The teachers who teach are generally practitioners from well-known large blockchain institutions, media reporters/analysts, or university teachers. Taking into account the maximization of influence and the saving of venue costs, the training is mainly conducted through WeChat applets, mobile apps and other online live or recorded lectures, such as Tencent Classroom (Note: Fun Chain, Kongyi College), Xiao Goose Tong (Note : 01 Blockchain, Babbitt University), official website (Note: 01 Blockchain, Blue Ocean College), etc. According to incomplete statistics from the Zero One Think Tank, as of the end of November 2020, institutions’ online paid audio/video courses accounted for 50.00%, online free audio/video courses accounted for 44.44%, and offline paid audio/video courses accounted for 5.56%. No offline free courses have been counted yet. For the purpose of profit, training institutions attract customers through free courses, aiming to convert paying users.

Through the statistics of the number of course views, courses with larger traffic have the characteristics of combining popular technologies, strong practicability, short and complete courses, and low cost. The courses with a lot of viewing are Leshang Light to 3 class hours/169 yuan of “Python to realize the blockchain architecture”, 3 class hours of free course “Blockchain In-Depth Practical Warfare” of Ding College, and 01 Blockchain 30 class hours/99 Yuan’s “Necessary for the Blockchain Era: A Minimalist Course of Digital Currency” and the 5-lecture free course “EOS Smart Contract Development Project Practical Combat” from Kongyi College, received 8,490, 6,977, 2,322 and 2,190 views respectively.

In paid teaching, the cost of offline teaching is much higher than online. For example, the offline and online charging standards averaged 90,100 yuan and 619.12 yuan. Among them, the University of Mars and the Golden College offer offline courses with higher fees, ranging from RMB 208,000/6 months, RMB 58888/9 sessions, and RMB 12888/9 sessions.

At a glance the current status of China's blockchain talent education: 32 colleges and universities carry out blockchain teaching researchFigure 2: Distribution of China’s blockchain training courses (incomplete statistics, as of November 30, 2020), data/source: official website, public information, zero one think tank

In addition to schools and training institutions, companies also have internal channels for cultivating blockchain talents. Under normal circumstances, companies choose employees with comprehensive capabilities such as technology research and development and academic research to establish a blockchain team. These team members are relatively stable, and there is less demand for external recruitment.

Since 2018, the blockchain teams of many companies have intensively released white papers, such as OneConnect and Tencent Cloud. Or some teams break away from the original technical department and form an independent brand, such as AntChain. In view of the fact that in-house training information is rarely disclosed to the outside world, Zero One Think Tank will not conduct statistical research for the time being.

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