Professor Hardle conducts lectures at Xiamen University. [Photo/en.xmu.edu.cn]

Wolfgang Karl Hardle, a tenured professor at the School of Business and Economics at Humboldt University of Berlin, director of the Statistics and Data Center at the Institute for Statistics and Econometrics, and director of the Institute for Digital Assets (IDA), visited the School of Economics at Xiamen University (XMU) from March 7 to 11 and offered a short course titled "Topics on Blockchains, Cryptocurrencies and Network Analytics" for undergraduate students.

The course introduced cutting-edge topics, including the underlying mechanisms of blockchain, digital asset markets, complex network analysis, financial risk measurement, and asset pricing. It aims to help students lay a solid foundation for academic studies, master research tools, and stay abreast of the latest technological developments.

During the lectures, Professor Hardle integrated the fundamental blockchain theories with the open science concept, systematically explaining important topics such as the SHA-256 algorithm before extending the discussion to digital assets such as cryptocurrencies. He also explored potential applications of blockchain in areas such as supply chain traceability and medical data management.

The five-day course helped students develop a comprehensive understanding of the subject, ranging from theoretical frameworks to advanced topics such as complex network analysis.

The course not only gave faculty and students a better understanding of the latest developments in blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and network analytics, but also laid a solid foundation for their future advanced research in digital finance, financial technology, and data science.