• Understand the underlying principles, main application areas and main formats and sectoral utilizations of Blockchain.
• Be able to identify situations where Blockchain could be a useful solution, and situations where it is not useful
• Be able to demonstrate their understanding of the challenges and opportunities for business, particularly in designing domain-specific sustainable digital infrastructures that are interoperable with existing infrastructures, and that allow for the further development of applications by a broad range of actors.
• Be able to understand and communicate the complexities of building a Blockchain infrastructure that is constantly in the making and does not have a final state, and the implications of these complexities on business opportunities and challenges.
• Identify viable Blockchain solutions, taking into account the importance of community and ecosystem development (e.g. consortia and collaborations) and the use of the right incentive structures both within and outside the chosen Blockchain protocol.

A decade ago, an anonymous person or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto unleashed the Bitcoin protocol on the Internet, which allows for peer-to-peer exchange of digital cash without the need for a trusted third party. This was the first implementation of what today is broadly referred to as Blockchain technology, alluding to one of the attributes of Bitcoin, namely its shared replicated transaction ledger that is structured as blocks of transactions chained together through cryptographic hashes. While the specific technical components of Blockchain have been known for a long time, i.e. distributed databases, cryptography, and consensus protocols, it is their specific combination that has proven innovative. It is therefore today often claimed that Blockchain can be seen as an emerging open protocol layer on the internet on which a whole range of innovative solutions can be created ranging from supply chain, trade finance, sustainability reporting, and crowdfunding, to distributed energy production, digital carbon markets, and local exchange platforms. This being said, Blockchain technology is complicated to wrap one’s mind around, and the envisioned future, in terms of propagation into established industries, which is advocated by its proponents has so far been slow to materialize.

This summer course will allow future business leaders to demystify the technology, and get a nuanced understanding of the opportunities as well as challenges associated with Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies for the private sector in general, and for sustainability impact in particular. The course places itself at the intersection of technology and business, and while being theoretically framed draws on specific empirical sustainability cases that will be explored in depth in term of understanding the specific industries as well as the related implementation challenges. This is not an exclusive class where software developers get to work on new Blockchain applications. Instead, this is a strategically designed business class for professionals looking to demystify what Blockchain technology is and how it can be applied to various types of firms, industries and business cases.

Preliminary assignment: Students will be given an assignment on select topics related to the implementation of Blockchain in specific sustainability cases. Tentatively these topics will relate to (i) traceability of various commodities, and (ii) emergence of blockchain enabled climate markets. Students will be expected to perform in-depth data collection (qualitative and quantitative), develop an analytical framework for the topic in question, hereunder a relevant research question, and synthesize their research in a structured 15-page report.

Class 1: Introduction to Blockchain

Class 2: Blockchain beyond cryptocurrency

Class 3: Transparency vs certification

Class 4: Technocratic definitions of innovation

Class 5: Blockchain for energy – huge potential or huge constraint?

Class 6: Blockchain for climate

Class 7&8: Student work on cases

Class 9&10: Student work on cases

Class 11: Final class

• Short 3 weeks course that cannot be combined with any other course
• Preliminary Assignment: The course coordinator uploads a preliminary assignment on Canvas at the end of May. It is expected that students participate as it will be included in the final exam, but the assignment is without independent assessment and grading.

• Course and exam timetable is/will be available on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams

• We reserve the right to cancel the course if we do not get enough applications. This will be communicated on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams in start March.

Mandatory readings:

Additional relevant readings: