到商学院学习区块链

David Yermack is a man in great demand. In 2014, the professor of finance at the NYU Stern School of Business helped it become the first major university to launch a course in the nascent field of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

大卫•叶马克(David Yermack)如今是个红人。2014年，这位纽约大学斯特恩学院(Stern School at New York University)的金融学教授帮助该校成为率先在区块链和加密货币这个新生领域开办课程的主要大学。

Since then the course has taken off and as well as teaching it in New York, Prof Yermack now travels the world as a visiting professor to lecture on the fast-moving field of cryptocurrencies at universities in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Basel and Stockholm.

这门课程一炮打响。如今除了在纽约授课以外，叶马克还被阿姆斯特丹、鹿特丹、巴塞尔和斯德哥尔摩的高校聘为客座教授，讲授快速发展的加密货币领域。

“I attended some events in New York and there was huge demand for people trained in the compliance and tax aspects of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, so we set up the course in 2014, the first of its kind,” he says. “Since then it has taken on a life of its own.”

他说：“我参加了纽约的一些活动，发现各方对在加密货币和区块链的合规和税收方面受过训练的人员有巨大需求，因此我们在2014年开办了这个课程，那是首个此类课程。从此一发而不可收。”

Blockchain is a shared ledger technology that powers cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the value of which recently rose above $10,000, up almost 13 times in the past year.

区块链是比特币等加密货币背后的一种共享分类账技术——比特币的价格一度上升到1万美元以上，在过去一年里上涨了近13倍。

The technology allows encrypted data on anything, from money to medical records, to be shared between many companies, people and institutions. This protects data from fraud while instantly updating all parties concerned. Experts say the demand for expertise is coming from all sectors — from financial services to retail — and it is far outstripping supply.

该技术使得从资金到病历的很多数据都能被加密，并在众多公司、人员和机构之间共享。这可以保护数据免遭欺诈，同时还能立即更新所有相关方的数据。专家们表示，对这方面专长的需求来自各行各业，从金融服务到零售，而需求远远超过供应。

“It is a fast-moving topic with tokenomics and cryptocurrencies changing whole industries,” says Oliver Bussmann, former chief information officer at the Swiss bank UBS who now advises blockchain start-ups. “The more people can learn about it and what potential it has, the more understanding they will have of what financial services will look like in five years.”

瑞银(UBS)前首席信息官、如今为区块链初创企业提供咨询服务的奥利弗•布斯曼(Oliver Bussmann)表示：“这是一个快速发展的主题，令牌学和加密货币正在从整体上改变一些行业。人们越了解加密货币及其潜力，就会越容易弄明白金融服务在五年后的面貌。”

Big companies have steered clear of bitcoin, fearing its links to fraud and criminality. But now they see vast potential in the underlying technology to improve the efficiency of everything from tracking food products to processing financial transactions.

由于担心比特币牵扯到诈骗和犯罪，大公司一直回避这种加密货币。但现在它们看到了其基础技术在提高各种操作的效率方面的巨大潜力，从追踪食品产品到处理金融交易。

Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, summed up the mood of big business last month by describing bitcoin as “a fraud”, while also saying: “Blockchain is a technology that is a good technology. We actually use it. It will be useful in a lot of different things.”

摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)首席执行官杰米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)把比特币描述为“一种欺诈”，这代表了大企业的态度，但他还说：“区块链作为一种技术是很好的技术。我行其实在使用它。它会在许多不同领域都很有用。”

Prof Yermack at NYU Stern says blockchain technology “is really changing every industry”. Describing its potential as “probably as important as the introduction of double-entry bookkeeping”, he says there is “enormous student interest for this, for the jobs it offers”.

纽约大学斯特恩学院的叶马克表示，区块链技术“真的在改变每个行业”。他形容其潜力“很可能和复式簿记的推出一样重要”，他表示，“鉴于它提供的工作机会，学生们兴趣极大”。

The NYU Stern cryptocurrencies course had a few dozen students when it started out. That has now grown to more than 100 students this year, with a waiting list, and as many as 300 expected next year. “We are moving it to our largest auditorium, with capacity for 350 students,” he says.

纽约大学斯特恩学院的加密货币课程在起步时有几十名学生。2017年学生人数增至100多人，还有一份等候名单，预计2018年学生人数将达到300人。他说：“我们将上课地点改到我校最大的礼堂，那里可以容纳350名学生。”

The subject matter is so fast-moving that it is hard for academics to keep up. Prof Yermack says the advent of “initial coin offerings”, which have allowed blockchain-based companies to raise more than $2bn this year, forced him to rewrite much of the syllabus this year.

这门课的内容发展如此迅速，以至于学者们很难跟上其步伐。叶马克表示，“首次代币发行”(initial coin offerings，简称ICO)的问世，迫使他在今年改写了很大一部分课程大纲。ICO让采用区块链技术的公司今年募集资金超过20亿美元。

“Year over year we’ll change well over half the course material,” he says. “It keeps you young to be reading half the night just to keep up with the latest innovations.”

他说：“我们每年都会调整一半以上的课程材料。仅仅是为了跟上最新的创新就需要每天花半个晚上阅读资料——这让你保持年轻。”

NYU Stern, which charges MBA students more than $70,000 a year and undergraduates more than $50,000, is planning to launch an undergraduate course in blockchain and cryptocurrencies. But like many universities it is running into a shortage of teachers. “Our biggest challenge is finding enough people to teach the courses,” says Prof Yermack.

纽约大学斯特恩商学院的MBA学生每年学费超过7万美元，本科生学费超过5万美元。该商学院正计划开设区块链和加密货币的本科课程。但与许多大学一样，它面临教师短缺的问题。叶马克表示：“目前我们最大的挑战是找到足够的人来教这些课程。”

Stanford University launched a bitcoin and cryptocurrencies course two years ago, but it stopped this year after losing some key staff. Joseph Bonneau left Stanford to join NYU Courant, where he teaches a blockchain course as part of its computer sciences faculty.

斯坦福大学(Stanford University)在两年前开设了比特币和加密货币课程，但在今年失去关键教员后停办了该课程。约瑟夫•博诺(Joseph Bonneau)离开斯坦福大学，加入纽约大学科朗校区(NYU Courant)，作为一名计算机科学副教授讲授一个区块链课程。

“I’m pretty sure that every university will have a blockchain course in five years,” he says. “More institutions would like to teach it now, but it’s a question of having a professor around to do it.”

他说：“我相当确信，5年后所有大学都会开设区块链课程。很多学府现在就想开这门课，但问题是得有一个教授讲课。”

The rapid spread of blockchain courses is being driven by the red-hot jobs market in the sector, with the best engineers in the field commanding a starting salary above $250,000.

区块链课程的迅速增多，是由该领域炙手可热的就业市场驱动的，该领域最优秀的工程师起薪超过25万美元。

Jens Martin, programme director at the University of Amsterdam, says that after its new blockchain and cryptocurrencies course became the most popular module on its international finance masters this year it plans to add a second, more practical, course on the subject next year.

阿姆斯特丹大学(University of Amsterdam)的课程总监延斯•马丁(Jens Martin)表示，在新开设的区块链和加密货币课程今年成为其国际金融硕士课程中最受欢迎的模块后，该校计划在明年就该主题开办第二个更加实用的课程。

Chris Knoll left a job as an equity analyst in South Africa to take the course in Amsterdam and soon after graduating this year he got a job at a private equity group in the Dutch city.

克里斯•诺尔(Chris Knoll)辞去了南非股票分析师的工作，去阿姆斯特丹攻读该课程。他在今年毕业后不久就在阿姆斯特丹的一家私人股本集团获得了工作。

“I don’t have the computer programming background to make it in fintech, but I’m really interested in it and if ever an opportunity came up in that area I’d take it with both hands,” says the 28-year-old. “Blockchain is going to change the world.”

28岁的诺尔表示：“我没有计算机编程背景，因此无法在金融科技领域出人头地，但我真的对它很感兴趣，如果有该领域的机会，我会紧紧抓住它。区块链将会改变世界。”

“There is a big demand for computer science students that have a good understanding of blockchain right now,” says Aggelos Kiayias, chair in cyber security and privacy and director of the blockchain technology laboratory at the University of Edinburgh, which launched a cryptocurrency course this year. “It serves as a very nice use case that the students can apply in a lot of other domains, like cyber security.”

英国爱丁堡大学(University of Edinburgh)今年开设了加密货币课程。该校网络安全和隐私主管兼区块链技术实验室主任安格罗斯•凯亚雅思(Aggelos Kiayias)表示：“当前，深入了解区块链的计算机科学专业学生面临极大需求。加密货币提供了一个极好的用例，学生们可以把它应用在其他很多领域，如网络安全。”

There are already scores of internet tutorials, many of them available free as massive open online courses (Moocs). Coursera, an education-focused tech company, has joined with Princeton University to offer an 11-week online cryptocurrency technologies course.

目前已经有几十个互联网教程，其中许多是免费提供的大规模开放在线课程(MOOC)。专注于教育的科技公司Coursera与普林斯顿大学(Princeton University)合作提供一个为期11周的在线加密货币技术课程。

At the other end of the spectrum is B9lab, a fee-charging institution based in London and Hamburg offering a 40-hour online course in blockchain for technical executives and analysts spread over nine weeks at a cost of €2,350.

而在市场的另一头是总部位于伦敦和汉堡的收费机构B9lab，该机构面向技术主管和分析师提供一个40小时的区块链在线课程，在9周内完成，费用为2350欧元。

Elias Haase, co-founder of B9lab, says demand for the course has been steady, if unspectacular, with about 40 people expected to take part this year. But he expects interest to grow, saying: “There is definitely a disconnect between the willingness of companies to invest in talent and the amount of money being raised in the system, which will eventually have to be rectified.”

B9lab联合创始人伊莱亚斯•哈斯(Elias Haase)表示，该课程需求稳定(即便不算火爆)，预计今年有大约40名学员。但他预计人们对该课程的兴趣将会上升，他说：“企业投资人才的意愿和该体系筹集的资金之间肯定存在脱节，最终不得不予以纠正。”

This feature is taken from our European Business Schools special report 译者/裴伴