Student's idea becomes new digital lab at the Farmer School of Business
New lab to work with industry partners in digital landscape
Student's idea becomes new digital lab at the Farmer School of Business
When sophomore Japveer Singh had an idea for a blockchain lab at the Farmer School of Business, he went straight to the top.
“How else am I going to make a change? I can't ask a teacher to make a building or make a room,” he said.
“He came into the Dean’s suite wearing a suit and was talking with our student worker. He asked if anyone was available to talk to. And I overheard that, and I said I would talk with him. He just came in and started talking about the idea and I heard his proposal,” said Drew Reffett, Associate Dean for Educational Excellence.
OK, the story is a little more complicated than that.
Singh was part of the First-Year Integrated Core last school year when his ESP 103 class got an assignment. “We were told to think of something we're interested in, but haven't learned a lot about, and then go learn about it. And for me, that was cryptocurrency and blockchain,” he said.
His first stop was Arthur Carvalho, an Information Systems and Analytics professor who has been teaching about blockchain and its uses for a few years.
“I had these ideas some years ago of a research lab,” Carvalho said. "I told Japveer, ‘Perhaps you should take that idea, if you want to do something, and build your legacy here, translate that idea into something else.’ And then he took that idea and reformulated it, doing a lot of research himself, which surprised me big time.”
That’s when Singh showed up in Reffett’s office. “He was very cost conscious on his proposal, which as an accountant, I appreciate,” Reffett said. “I'm not a blockchain expert, but I know this is a prominent area in business, so we want to make sure that our students are on the cutting edge of technology and this lab would be good to provide opportunities for students to refine their skills.”
“It's really growing fast and it's becoming way more mainstream. You have governments setting up their own crypto reserves, banks already have their own crypto divisions, and a lot of consulting firms work with blockchain,” Singh said. “It's all growing really rapidly, and I feel like there's no other way to learn it than to do it.”
Over the fall semester and winter term, what used to be office space on the second floor overlooking the Farmer School atrium has become what will soon be the Digital Economy and Assets Lab (DEAL), with powerful computers and a workspace for small groups of students.
The lab’s mission has grown beyond blockchain to encompass research and development, market analysis, and advancing Miami’s digital asset initiatives. Several groups and companies have already approached Carvalho to work with students on projects in the lab.
“The idea of a research lab evolved into a more entrepreneurial kind of lab. It's more about developing technology here and working close with our industry partners to make sure the students have an education, not only in the classroom, but also with external stakeholders as well,” he said.
Singh said he’s happy with the results of his efforts. “I felt good. I was more surprised than anything. I thought they would just brush me off and I wouldn't really make anything out of it.”
