Shanghai has seen the launch of a new blockchain research institute at one of China’s leading tertiary institutions.
On 15 February the sign for the Shanghai Municipal Blockchain Engineering Technology Research Centre (上海市区块链工程技术研究中心”) was officially unveiled at Fudan University.
The Centre was established under the leadership and guidance of the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (上海市科学技术委员会), with the three primary goals of:
- Supporting scientific exploration by scientific researchers of common technical problems in relation to distributed ledgers;
- The standardised promotion of classic applications of blockchain technology;
- Cultivating high-level blockchain engineering and technology talent.
Kan Haibin (阚海斌), a professor at the Fudan University faculty of computer science as well as chair of the Blockchain Engineering Technology Research Centre, said that the establishment of the centre was outlined by Shanghai’s 2018 Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan (科技创新行动计划).
Kan said that the Centre would advance the establishment of a “blockchain system which possesses independent intellectual property rights,” as well as “participate in the formulation of international and domestic [blockchain] standards.”
The Centre currently has more than 40 permanent R&D staff as well as five professional managers, and will regularly employ 5 – 10 “renowned subject matter specialists.”
The Centre will encompass the establishment of 4 specialist laboratories including an engineering technology laboratory, an administrative laboratory, an engineering implementation laboratory and a security laboratory.
The Centre will also cooperate with industry in the areas of public transport payments, cross-province medical treatment, academic qualification verification and transportation tickets.
Xu Que (徐恪), vice-chair of the computer science faculty at Tsinghua University, said that blockchain is currently in a growth phase and there are many problems that need solving, as well as many applications that need to be explored.
Xu believes that in future the blockchain could lead to a “new decentralised world.”
