Ateneo’s Christian Pulmano tackles empowering Filipino youth with blockchain technology

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Acknowledging the role of the youth in the Philippines’ digital transformation, Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blockchain Laboratory Head Christian Pulmano shares how the academe is contributing toward this goal.

Speaking on the sidelines of the London Blockchain Conference, Pulmano told CoinGeek Backstage‘s Becky Liggero that the younger generation has a significant role to play toward nation-building, which the ADMU, with support from nChain, is looking to highlight through the utilization of blockchain technology.

Drawing from the memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked earlier this year with nChain, Pulmano said the ADMU is focusing its efforts on identifying the problems plaguing the Philippines to build blockchain solutions that would benefit the Filipino community.

However, blockchain solutions aren’t built overnight and require a deep understanding of the technology, which the ADMU seeks to address through its student blockchain education program.

“As a university, we want to empower the students, who we consider as our future nation builders, and to capacitate them with the needs and knowledge that they need to have in order to properly implement the blockchain technology,” he noted.

The ADMU will begin implementing the blockchain educational course developed with nChain in January 2024. Prior to this planned enforcement, Pulmano said the university has already offered electives to introduce students to blockchain technology.

“On average, there are 30 students on a semester that take that course,” Pulmano discloses.

The Philippines is one of the ideal destinations to build and test blockchain solutions due to its growing economy. When asked how blockchain could improve major sectors such as the country’s healthcare, Pulmano said the technology would improve data management, giving doctors and professionals a new way of monitoring and caring for their patient’s health and well-being.

“Health is applicable to everyone. We want everyone to become healthier, and we want them to be more active in their own health,” Pulmano said. “Blockchain being something that decentralizes the system, including the healthcare system, we see it as a potential solution, and we can use blockchain technology to ensure that everyone is active in their own health.”

Improving the Philippines’ healthcare system through blockchain technology is one of the four priorities of ADMU and nChain in developing blockchain solutions. The other three are integral ecology, integrational reform, and sustainable environment.

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