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The University of Wyoming recently opened its Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation. Only a handful of universities in the country have this type of center and UW hopes this will help diversify the state’s economy. Kamila Kudelska of Wyoming Public Radio spoke with new center director Steven Lupien to discuss the unique resources the center will offer. First, Lupien explained what a blockchain is.
Steven Lupien: Blockchain is very simple. It is a new form database. And what makes this database unique is that multiple people can view the database information at the same time and have confidence that it is valid. So what blockchain is extraordinarily good at are two things. One is that it provides transparency in counterparty transactions. It’s one of the reasons you see it in things like supply chains right now. Because you can follow the movement of anything, a product, from start to finish with confidence and transparency. The other thing that blockchain does, which is truly unique, is that it does well, it makes data unique.
Kamila Kudelska: So why do we need a center for blockchain and digital innovation at the University of Wyoming?
SL: I am convinced that this could not happen in any other state due to the uniqueness of Wyoming and how it works. Its legislature operates so collaboratively that Wyoming has passed 20 laws in the past three years, specifically enabling digital assets, blockchain and cryptocurrency. So, to answer your question, with everything Wyoming has done, to promote this environment. The university recognizes that we play a unique role here in Wyoming. We are a land grant university, first of all, but we are the only university in the state of Wyoming. So we have a unique relationship with the state. And we believe it is up to us to work with corporate stakeholders, not only to help them understand that Wyoming could be the place they can do business and live, but also because it is our responsibility to create the kind of students these companies therefore want to hire . And we want to be able to work with these companies on research opportunities too and the things universities typically do so that the university can now partner with the state hand-in-hand to help develop this new industry and make sure ours the state’s main export is not our college-educated youth.
KK: So what is this center trying to do? As I understand it, there may be research, eventually it will be a master’s or bachelor’s degree, with which students can come up with.
SL: From the point of view of educational programs, we will start with a university minor that we want to launch. Next, not next semester, but next year in the fall. And so we’re putting the final pieces of that together, and it’s going to be an interdisciplinary minor, going through many of our colleges, but specifically, agriculture, natural resources, engineering and applied sciences, and our College of Business. So this will be a first, we are also working on creating graduate certification and continuing education programs for our corporate stakeholders, but also for Wyoming residents who want to learn more about this space. We will work with companies on research and research grants. And we are also because of our unique relationship, we are also looking for and have strategic partnerships. So we want to work with the incredibly strong community college system that Wyoming has and help them develop programs around this space, and perhaps even a path where community college students can then move to the University of Wyoming to finish their their education. Of course, industry collaborations are important. Working with state agencies, such as the Division of Banking, which is regulating fast banks and the Secretary of State’s office, and certainly working with Jillian Balow’s office with K-12 education, I think that’s something where we want to be very involved. And there are about a dozen other universities that have blockchain centers like ours. And by collaborating, I think we can ultimately create better programs for everyone in all universities and working with them. So Wyoming is now in a unique position with our legislation to truly lead this effort.
KK: I think one of the big keywords that comes up every time Wyoming talks about blockchain is that what they’ve done is diversify the economy. And I wonder, can you explain how he will do it?
SL: If we are successful, in several ways. Look, we all recognize that Wyoming has some budget challenges right now due to how today’s economy has affected power and energy. This legislation affects in a couple of ways. First of all, by creating a business-friendly environment with legal certainty, our goal is to have companies domiciled in the state of Wyoming. And when you are domiciled in the state of Wyoming, you pay taxes to the office of the secretary of state and that generates income for the state. Many of these people will also bring jobs, and jobs are certainly crucial to the growth of our economy. And again, as I said earlier, we want to have an environment where UW graduates have options where they can, stay here and live in the communities they grew up in and have well-paying tech and financial jobs. So I think there is also this opportunity.
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