Building With Blockchain for Web 3.0

Advanced Topics in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

In this course, students will work in teams directly with three leading protocols to build a prototype around a use case of students’ choice, following our theme of Web 3.0. Students will have access to developer support from these protocols throughout the course, and the course will provide technical and entrepreneurial training through the instructor, mentors and guest lecturers.

Students will learn about and understand the motivation behind Web 3.0 and blockchain, dive into and build on these emerging blockchain protocols, gain practical skills while building functional prototypes, and present at an end-of-course “demo day”. Teams will also compete for a coveted spot in the SCET Collider Cup and be considered for UC Berkeley’s blockchain startup accelerator – the Xcelerator.

Lattices: Algorithms, Complexity, and Cryptography

Emerging Technologies and Social Impact Challenge Lab

Spring 2020 INDENG 185-001 | M 4-8pm — 4 units

**This course counts towards the Sutardja Certificate in Technology and Entrepreneurship. Additional information: https://scet.berkeley.edu/courses/ **

Will another Initial Coin Offering alleviate global poverty? Does the world need a new protocol to avoid an environmental catastrophe? This course will take a contrarian view and start with a social, environmental, political, or cultural problem. Only then will we look at applicable technologies, inventions, and tools to make an impact. We will present an overview of blockchain, fintech, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and other disruptive technologies that have the potential to transform society or reinvent markets. Students will also learn the basics of entrepreneurship and deploy empathy-driven, user-centered design methods to create a new product and ensure a good problem / solution fit. Guest lectures from industry and academia, hands-on group exercises, and presentation of use cases will help along the way.

The course is structured as an incubator where multidisciplinary student teams will work together on real world deliverables.

Over the course of the semester, students will be expected to validate their initial ideas with users, build and launch a working prototype, and develop and present a cogent business plan. At the conclusion of the course, each team will pitch their idea to a panel of venture capitalists and angel investors. The top teams will have the opportunity to transition their companies into one or more Berkeley-related incubator/accelerator programs, including the Blockchain Accelerator.

Special Selected Topics for MBA Students: Blockchain for Enterprise

Fall 2019 MBA 294.15-1 | Th 6-8pm

Blockchain for Enterprise is designed to help students understand how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies work and to give students the ability to actively contribute to discussions about these topics with corporate executives. The course will enable students to utilize a framework for evaluating the use of blockchain in different use cases, ideate on and propose new strategic use-cases for smart contract-based applications, and to make valuable connections with relevant industry professionals. Together, these will prepare students with the skills needed to support enterprise evaluations of blockchain technology.