Recognising digital currency
The University of Nicosia, the largest private university in Cyprus and one of the largest English language universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region is now accepting Bitcoin for payment of tuition and other fees, making it the first accredited university in the world to accept the increasingly popular digital currency.
Additionally, UNic is also launching in Spring 2014 the first Master of Science Degree in Digital Currency, which is designed to help financial services and business professionals, entrepreneurs, government officials and public administrators better understand the technical underpinnings of digital currency, how it will likely interact with existing monetary and financial systems and what opportunities exist for innovation in digital currency systems.
“We are acutely aware that digital currency is an inevitable technical development that will lead to significant innovation in online commerce, financial systems, international payments and remittances and global economic development. Digital currency will create more efficient services and will serve as a mechanism for spreading financial services to under-banked regions of the world,” said Dr. Christos Vlachos, member of the Council of the University of Nicosia and the University’s Chief Financial Officer. “Our world class business, accounting and computer science departments have partnered to create an interdisciplinary major to prepare people for these revolutionary changes. In this light, we consider it appropriate that we implement digital currency as a method of payment across all our institutions in all cities and countries of our operations.”
The new Master’s program will be offered both online and on-campus to students worldwide starting in Spring 2014. The language of instruction will be English. Additionally, UNic will make the first class in the degree pathway, Introduction to Digital Currency, available for free as an open enrolment.
“While digital currency is a relatively new concept, currency is one of the oldest human inventions,” said Dr. Andreas Polemitis, Senior Vice Rector at the University of Nicosia. “What we aim to explore in this program is the likely development pathway of digital currency and give our students insights that they can bring to bear in their professional careers.”
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