Universities are ‘critical players’ for the future of Web3 — LBank Labs exec

Universities have a “critical” role to play in nurturing the next generation of Web3 talent, and academia must understand it to guide students toward the right vision, according to Czhang Lin, an IC board member of Web3 venture fund LBank Labs.

On Aug. 2, the venture capital firm announced the winners of its Summer Bootcamp competition for university students. Various participants from different academic institutions participated to win a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and mentorship opportunities from crypto funds.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Summer Bootcamp retreat hosted by LBank Labs in Cabo!
16 teams from around the globe were chosen out of 70+ applicants from top global universities @Harvard @MIT @DukeU @Stanford @Cornell @Penn @imperialcollege @itu1773en…

— LBank Labs (@LBankLabs) August 2, 2023

In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, Lin highlighted the importance of universities when it comes to the future of Web3. According to Lin, universities are “critical players for new tech” like Web3 and are a typical source of talent. “It is important for unis to understand Web3 and guide students towards the right vision,” he shared.

While the markets are exhibiting signs of a bearish phase, Lin believes that it’s still the right time to build and invest. He said:

“The bear market is always the best time to build and to invest. During this period, VCs [venture capitalists] are more demanding and may bring bigger pressure to the startups from unis. However, we are a stronger believer that diamonds will shine either way and persistence is their best friend.”

When asked about hot trends among college students, Lin shared that another “buzzword” came into the mix — artificial intelligence (AI). However, despite the advent of AI, Lin believes that there shouldn’t be a problem as the two sectors can work together.

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In terms of trends among the university students that participated in the competition, Lin shared that most of the applicants focused on decentralized finance, liquid staking derivatives, zero-knowledge and decentralized applications.

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