Blockchain and science
Consense Data Exchange is organizing a workshop on Blockchain in Science in collaboration with the Data Science Community@UM.
If you and/or your work is related to computer science or data science, this workshop will help you understand the enormous change that is coming to the very foundation of ICT technology.
Also if you do research in life sciences and you want to extend your knowledge about the opportunities of blockchain in life science, this is the perfect opportunity to get in contact with experts in this field, as well as fellow researchers from the Data Science Community@UM.
Programme
Time | Topic |
---|---|
14:00 - 14:10 | Welcome with coffee and tea |
14:10 - 14:20 | Introduction and Ice Breaker |
14:20 - 15:00 | 'Blockchain and AI in science' by Oskar Person |
15:00 - 15:30 | 'Blockchain and privacy' by Tim Janssen |
15:30 - 15:45 | Break with coffee and tea |
15:45 - 16:30 | 'Blockchain engineering' by Chris Georgen |
16:30 - 17:00 | Panel discussion about Blockchain for Life Sciences |
Consense Data Exchange
Consense Data Exchange is a Dutch startup that aims to bridge the gap between health research and the public. We aim to use digital technology to improve processes and bring together individuals and researchers in one unique space.
Prerequisite knowledge or skills
IT experience (data analysis, programming) is essential to benefit from this technical workshop
Information
Learning objectives and goals
During this session, we will learn about Blockchain and its applications in life sciences. We will start with explaining the history of distributed applications (DApps) with Byzantine Fault Tolerance and overview the main trends in blockchain development. We will explain the current state-of-the-art of blockchain design, the development stack for DApps and what functionalities it enables. We will briefly discuss most interesting projects (Ethereum, Lisk, Stellar, Augur) and show a map of blockchain projects. We will present possible combinations of blockchain and AI such as model marketplaces and distributed machine learning and explain their relevance to life sciences. We will briefly overview Game Theoretic problems relating to blockchain and transition into a discussion about security and privacy. Tim Janssen will explain what mechanisms preserve transaction privacy on blockchains and put this in relation to the General Data Protection Regulation. We will also introduce zero-knowledge proofs as a fantastic cutting-edge application of cybersecurity concepts. We will then start talking about basic aspects of blockchain engineering and discuss tools and methods that can be applied to build a blockchain-based solution. Finally, we will peek into the future of blockchain programming for scientists and highlight the importance of functional programming in DApp development. The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion after which we will move to a more relaxed environment to enjoy a dinner together all together.
Course Materials
Required Materials and Resources
Laptop
Course Materials and Resources
Participants are expected to have basic understanding of what blockchain is, which can be easily gained by watching Siraj’s comprehensive 10min video and reading the blockchain technology handbook . More resources can be found via GitHub .
Note that this workshop is not about introducing Solidity programming. There are plenty of great resources about Solidity out there and you can ask us questions about it during the workshop.