Tri-C Partners With IBM on Blockchain Training Program

Program offers Tri-C students access to IBM blockchain platform and industry mentors

Is blockchain the future of Cleveland?

Cuyahoga Community College is among the local organizations working to make the answer “yes.” A recent partnership with IBM is helping move the needle in that direction.

Along with Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina, Tri-C was one of the first two community colleges in the U.S. to become blockchain educational partners with IBM.

The IBM partnership, through the tech giant’s New Collar initiative, was finalized last spring. It offers Tri-C students access to IBM blockchain services and expertise.

“One of the biggest benefits of the partnership for Tri-C students is access to Hyperledger,” said Charles Dull, Tri-C’s associate dean of IT. “It’s a platform for development of blockchain technology, supported by IBM and other major industry players.”

In addition to Hyperledger, Tri-C students also receive access to modules in the IBM blockchain curriculum and blockchain case studies, as well as mentorship from an IBM expert.

“With all of the IBM resources now available to us, Tri-C can provide a comprehensive blockchain training environment — both for students just entering the workforce and for those who are looking to enhance their existing career or enter a new career entirely,” Dull said.

IBM blockchain training is presently offered as a two-semester credit course sequence. A three-day noncredit option will be offered through Cleveland Codes later this year.

To enroll in the IBM credit course sequence, students must have completed three prerequisites:

• Information Technology Concepts for Programmers (IT-1025)
• Programming Logic (IT-1050)
• Enterprise Database Systems (IT-2351)

The IBM course sequence itself is comprised of the following classes:

• Introduction to Blockchain (IT-1815)
• Special Topics Server Side Web Programming (IT-2818)
• Blockchain Applications (IT-2815)

Introduction to Blockchain and Introduction to Quality Assurance are eight-week courses. Blockchain Applications is a 16-week advanced topics course.

The first cohort began in fall 2018.

“The program is still very new at Tri-C, but we believe this partnership could help train people in a wide range of industries that will be impacted by blockchain technology,” Dull said.

The technology has applications in dozens of industries in which secure storage and transmission of data is essential, including health care, financial services, online retail and legal services.

But blockchain technology — and Northeast Ohio’s efforts to become a blockchain hub — will never advance without a talented and qualified workforce. The raw materials are there for widespread adoption of blokchain, Dull said, and Tri-C is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of blockchain education throughout the region.

“We were one of two schools approached by IBM for a reason,” Dull said. “The Cleveland area has the talent and the capacity to mobilize blockchain technology, and Tri-C has the outstanding faculty necessary to deliver top-shelf blockchain education. We have also made substantial investments in our IT and STEM facilities.

“The College is taking the lead in blockchain education so Northeast Ohio can take the lead in becoming a center of blockchain industry in the coming decades.”

May 23, 2019

Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 erik.cassano@tri-c.edu