Please note: this minor has a selection procedure and an earlier closing date. Read the Entry Requirements carefully if you want to register for this minor.

Blockchain is a modern technology that enables peer-to-peer transfer of digital assets without any intermediaries and is predicted to be just as impactful as the Internet. This course provides you with an understanding and working knowledge of foundational blockchain concepts and enables you to explain basic components of a blockchain and its operations. We will review and learn fundamentals of blockchain technology and digital assets by building a simple working prototype of a blockchain from scratch. This is a project-based learning, which allows you to practically develop, apply, and evaluate your knowledge in blockchain and digital assets.

For more information or any question about the course, please contact Babak Basharirad.

Content & programme

1.       Introduction to Blockchain Technologies and Digital Assets (Internet, Circuit Switching and Packet Switching Network, and Web, Internet of Value, Centralization vs Decentralization, Blockchain, Linked List Data Structure, Digital Assets, Transaction, Distributed Ledger, Double Spending Problem, and other Security Concerns, Bitcoin, Mining, and Consensus)

2.      Digital Assets and Digital Signature (Introduction to Cryptography, Asymmetric Cryptography, Digital Signature, Signature Verification)

3.      Blockchain (Hash Function, Blockchain Data Structure, Tamper-Proof Blockchain)

4.      Transaction (Transaction Data Structure, Sign and Verify)

5.      Ledger (Object Serialization, Load, and Save, Pickle Library, Transaction Block, Public Ledger-based Transaction Blockchain, Blockchain Validation)

6.      Decentralization and Distributed Ledger (Mining, Proof of Work and Nonce, Mining Reward)

7.      Communication and Networking (Introduction to Socket Programming, TCP/IP, and Client/Server Model, Block Data Serialization, Miner, Wallet)

8.      Concurrency (Multi-Threading, and Non-blocking Server, Miner Client/Server Model, Wallet Client/Server Mode)

Learning goals

1. To understand, develop and implement asymmetric encryption, digital signature, and signature verification.
2. To understand, develop and implement basic components of a blockchain and digital assets (transaction, public ledger, hash, block, and tamper-proof blockchain) and its operations (verification, validation, load, and store).
3. To understand, develop and implement decentralization, mining, consensus, proof of work, nonce, mining reward, transaction fee.
4. To understand, develop and implement communication and networking in blockchain, miner, wallet, client/server and concurrency in miners and wallet.

Students of year 3 and 4 of study programs related to Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, and other relevant programs. Students need to have knowledge of Python programming, and data structure and algorithms

Attention! For this minor, there is a maximum number of participants combined with a lottery and an earlier closing date. If you want to participate in the lottery, register for the minor in Osiris Student by 09:00 AM - 6th May 2024 at the latest.

Course materials, such as slides, articles, e-books, python codes, etc. will be provided in the lessons.

This course is composed of 20 weeks which are planned as below:

Week 1: Introduction to the course and administration
Week 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8: Lessons (Lectures, Student-centered discussion, practicum)
Week 9, 10, 11: Assignment Part 1
Week 12, 13: Assignment (1) presentation and discussion, assessment, and feedback (30 minutes per student)
Week 14, 15: Lessons (practicum)
Week 16, 17, 18: Assignment Part 2
Week 19, 20: Assignment (2) presentation and discussion, assessment, and feedback (30 minutes per student) 

This course contains multiple assessment components:

• Quiz (weekly) - 10%
• Research and Presentation - 10%
• Class Exercise (weekly) - 10%
• Homework (weekly) - 10%
• Final Assignment Part 1 (First educational period [10 weeks]) - 30%
• Final Assignment Part 2 (Second educational period [10 weeks]) - 30%
   

-