Kazakhstan launches blockchain education initiatives

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Kazakhstan has launched education initiatives aimed at imparting young minds with blockchain skills, targeting university students.

The Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education launched the initiative in partnership with a local exchange. Running over the next month, it will cater to students from over 100 local universities. 

The initiative comprises 70 modules and will run until November 22, reports local newspaper Astana Times. These will delve into blockchain technology and its various facets, including decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized applications (dApps) and digital asset trading. Participants will receive a certificate upon completion.

In a statement, the Ministry noted that blockchain education‘s importance “cannot be overestimated,” especially in Kazakhstan, where the technology can spark transformational socioeconomic growth. It added that similar previous initiatives have yielded great results, including enabling thousands to confidently use digital assets for payments.

The Science Ministry announced a similar initiative last year, partnering with the central bank and the Ministry of Digital Development on a series of blockchain courses for university students. 

“I am confident that through our fruitful cooperation, Kazakhstan’s higher education system will become a supplier of blockchain industry professionals not only for the needs of Kazakhstan’s economy but also for the global labor market,” Science Minister Sayasat Nurbek commented at the time.

Elsewhere, the BSV Association educates Africa, particularly Nigeria, about different blockchain solutions. At the Digital Nigeria Conference earlier this year, BSV Association shared initiatives to impart blockchain skills in the African Nation, such as leading blockchain education programs in Nigeria. Currently, the BSV Association-led initiative has enrolled 60,000 members in its first cohort. With this blockchain program, the Association aims to build applications that would offer instant payments to the marginalized using the BSV blockchain. 

“Let’s work together to build the future and be successful together. Competing as one is when we’ll do the most good. Start now, start small, and grow to meet the needs of Nigeria and globally. No challenge is too great with a positive mentality and getting started today,” Freeman said. 

Back in Kazakhstan, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) hosted a three-day workshop this week to educate government officials on digital asset investigations. The workshop, OSCE’s second in Kazakhstan, attracted officials from the Financial Monitoring Agency, the Asset Recovery Committee, the Anti-Corruption Agency and others. 

The OSCE, which has over 55 member states across North America, Europe and Asia, presented real-life case studies to educate the officials on how to identify perpetrators, gather evidence, report suspicious transactions and freeze and seize digital assets.

“Criminal use of virtual assets has become one of the most discussed problems of the financial system and for the economic security of most countries. This highlights the critical need for capacity building of practitioners in order to identify, trace and effectively seize cryptocurrencies used for criminal activities,” stated Murat Tuleganov, the Head of the Office of the Asset Recovery Committee. 

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