Topics
Services
Home > Lucerne University ...
EN
EN DE FR IT

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts advises EU on blockchain issues

The Department of Computer Science at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the only Swiss institution participating in the prestigious Horizon 2020 research framework programme. The focus of the longer-term research project is blockchain technology.

Editorial office - 11 March 2018
The European Union has established a research network to monitor and control the development of blockchain technology. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is also in this network. (Image: depositphotos)

The Department of Computer Science at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has been researching blockchain for a while now. The increasingly important technology could completely transform the economy or state administrations. The European Union has also recognised the potential of blockchain. With the help of the "EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum", which it founded, it wants to monitor and help shape the development of this technology. This is an international research association that is intended to advise political decision-makers.

"Our task is to provide politicians with the information they need about blockchain in order to make informed decisions," says Alexander Denzler, head of the project team at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. This is because politicians find themselves in a difficult situation, he adds: "They have to create legal frameworks for a technology that is very complex and that they, as laypeople, have so far had a poor understanding of." This can range from discussions about the introduction of blockchain in the energy market to possible bans on blockchain-based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.To ensure that such debates do not take place in a vacuum, the observatory will in future act as a link between technology, research and politics. It will also network the various national blockchain research initiatives and ensure that Europe - including Switzerland - plays a leading role in the development and use of blockchain technology.

The only Swiss institution in the network

The EU Commission launched the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum at the beginning of February. The project, which is endowed with 1.5 million euros, is part of the EU's Horizon 2020 research framework programme and is initially limited to four years. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the only Swiss institution involved. In addition to the Department of Computer Science, the observatory includes Imperial College London, the Knowledge Media Institute at Open University and the University of Southampton (all from the UK). The industry partner is the US-based blockchain software company ConsenSys.

https://www.hslu.ch/de-ch/informatik/

(Visited 189 times, 1 visits today)

More articles on the topic

Former Interpol Director of Cybercrime joins Zendata Cybersecurity as Senior Advisor