Aside from the fantastic weather (one can’t help but swoon at the sunny winter the Spanish are blessed with, if one is from the Netherlands); it was an inspirational endeavor to travel to ESIC University in Madrid, Spain for the one-week Blended Intensive Program: ‘From Bitcoin to NFTs, surviving the natural selection’ under the excellent guidance of Professor Fernando Garcia Monleón. There we encountered more than 40 bachelor students from various universities across Europe who were challenged to uptake and brainstorm ideas on Metaverse, Blockchain, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Smart Contracts.
Just like that, from being something in the future, the Metaverse has become our present! And now continues to evolve as a digital universe, ‘magically’ combining physical and digital experiences where users can interact, create, socialize and trade in virtual environments.
This evolution of the Metaverse is powered by another rapidly developing technology: Blockchain. The use of NFTs and smart contracts as a result of this technology within the Metaverse for instance creates a completely new world of unexplored (business) opportunities; where users can buy, own, trade, and monetize digital assets (NFTs) with real-world value, in a secure and transparent way. Parallel, smart contracts are becoming increasingly important due to their ability to facilitate and secure transactions, ownership, and interactions within this digital space.
And how did the student teams do? The final presentations were no doubt promising; showcasing visionary ideas such as a global free-lance network, virtual construction sites, a sophisticated service model in the fitness industry, digital healthcare and a global educators network. Good enough for the students to look for investors and make it all happen tomorrow!
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Over Kiran Aswani
Exploration of human nature has been a lifelong interest, and gathering the knowledge and deeper understanding of the world, a constant pursuit. Having lived on four continents and having been exposed to so many places and persons, I find myself even more curious, and with a heightened awareness. In Fontys, I teach finance and accounting in the International Business program. My blog is an exercise in critical thinking, looking at the intersection between finance-education-life.