The ins and outs of Mt. A’s Blockchain Club
In a growing technological world, Mt. A’s innovative Blockchain Club has taken its skills international in hopes of growing popularity alongside other Canadian universities. After winning the international hackathon, Consensus,in May of this year, with approximately 300 participants from around the globe, it shined in one of the world’s biggest Blockchain events. The President of the club, Tolga Cohce, highlighted its ground-up outreach and ensuing success for The Argosy.
Largely based on software development, Cohce described Blockchain itself as a collaboration of both universities and technological companies who are looking to “educate people about their product, technology, […] or their infrastructure.” Mt. A Blockchain coordinates with several other Blockchain clubs in Canada, however, primarily works with Dalhousie who serves as the “umbrella of clubs in [Eastern Canada].
In May, Cohce attended an international hackathon event in Toronto called Consensus. At these events, collaboration is key with other domestic Blockchain clubs, as Cohce described Canadian clubs as “overrepresented” and needing a place to work together so that Blockchain can thrive. Cohce explained that during Consensus, he met with individuals from several Universities, such as Waterloo, Dalhousie, George Brown, Calgary, and British Columbia. “We came together, found our own sponsors through this event [and said] we really should create this network of Canadian Blockchain clubs,” said Cohce.
Furthermore, Cohce noted his concern for the Atlantic Canadian region given his and the President of the Dalhousie club’s upcoming graduation. “In order for us to represent the East coast well, […] we essentially need to create a framework where people can plug into this umbrella organization,” he said. “We want the club to go on, and if it does not, we are probably going to create a non-profit in Halifax to keep supporting students.”
During one event at Consensus, Cohce partnered with the University of Waterloo and finished second place, winning $10,000 USD.. At these events sponsored by various tech companies, each team is tasked to create software that tackles a problem based on that company’s service. Cohce remarked “the key with these events is to make something unique and impactful.” His team’s project, however, was focused on building software that could easily transfer cryptocurrency between bank accounts. “If I want to send crypto to my friend, I do not want to sit there for three hours and explain everything,” said Cohce. “So what we built [allows] you to send crypto with a link, then it offramps it from crypto to their bank account directly.” These events allow companies to engage students to take part in a seemingly exclusive industry where they are free to improve their software-building skills, according to Cohce.
This led Cohce to emphasize the benefits of getting involved with Blockchain. After getting involved in high school, Cohce discovered his interest in “building software around Blockchain.” Now working alongside several schools, Cohce noted that he not only gained good tech development experience, but also networking and travel opportunities. Through various travel grants, Cohce has been able to work alongside various clubs and find further opportunities. Speaking on the opportunity of hands-on learning, Cohce stated “compared to anywhere else, especially in computer science and data science, there are incredible amounts of opportunities for students willing to learn [who] are interested in the Blockchain space in general.” By attending these events, Cohce described it as a positive student movement because of the connections and opportunities he has made. “It is this huge network, and as a result, […] students get jobs and help other students.”
Mt. A Blockchain is a chance to network and grow skills in an underrepresented field at Mt. A, with Cohce echoing, “we need way more Blockchain representation in university clubs, so hopefully we will get [over ten] universities that are part of Canadian Blockchain Universities and we create this framework where none of these clubs die, but they can find people to pass the club off to.” Cohce noted that the Mt. A Blockchain Club is open to new recruits and can expect to develop coding skills, travel opportunities, and exposure. He encourages those interested to email him directly, [email protected]