From NFT-Driven Luxury Retail to Privacy-Preserving Genetic Data: Empowering Students in the World of Blockchain
The concluding day of the Web3 Educational Hackathon kicked off with a gathering of enthusiastic students and representatives from OKCoin Japan, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange. Mr. Sagara, representing OKCoin Japan’s marketing department, shed light on cryptocurrency exchanges' pivotal roles and responsibilities within the industry. He shared his journey of fascination with cryptocurrencies since his student days and gave students insights into his career path. Through the Web3 academic-educational hackathon, OKCoin Japan demonstrated its commitment to nurturing Web3 development talent and highlighted the diverse career opportunities within the crypto industry.
On the second day, the motivated students of Kindai University, guided by expert engineers from Bunzz and EverSystem in Web3 development, embarked on a thrilling challenge — creating innovative products that had yet to be conceived. This hands-on experience provided them with invaluable insights and skills, pushing the boundaries of what is achievable in Web3 and technological innovation.
Students were treated to delightful Yakiniku (grilled meat) rice bowls and generous shrimp tempura rice bowls during lunchtime. They savored these delectable meals at various spots within the cafe area of the Kinki University Academic Theater, offering a relaxing and enjoyable break amidst their intensive day of learning and development.
Professor Moriyama of Kindai University led a guided tour of the university’s impressive facilities, showcasing them to Mr. Ito from Bunzz, Mr. Sagara from OKCoin Japan, and graduate student engineers actively supporting the educational hackathon. The tour encompassed a visit to the Academic Theater, where the hackathon unfolded, featuring an Apple-certified learning room. Additionally, they explored the Information Science building, home to Moriyama’s lab, which hosts a dedicated facility for esports known as the “eSports Arena.” Those who toured these facilities were genuinely impressed, often expressing their amazement at the state-of-the-art educational and recreational resources available at Kindai University.
Team Presentations
The day's highlight was the presentation of outcomes from the Web3 Educational Hackathon. The first presentation came from a graduate student of Moriyama’s laboratory, focusing on their graduation research theme, “Verification of Genetic Information using Blockchain.” This project aimed to validate the ownership of genetic information while safeguarding privacy through zero-knowledge proofs and smart contracts. The challenge they tackled was the inability to record personal genetic data on the blockchain directly. As a result of the hackathon, the student successfully created a simple zero-knowledge proof, encompassing proof generation, verification keys, and witness information. The following steps involve exploring the meaning of the proof, verifying the operation of the verification smart contract, and developing a verification smart contract employing zero-knowledge proofs. This project represents a significant leap forward in the intersection of privacy, blockchain technology, and genetic data.
Under the theme “Proof of Activities for Campus Interaction and Regional Revitalization,” another team developed an application for anonymous voting using blockchain at events, enabling attendees to cast votes without revealing their preferences to the presenters. Their deliverable showcased successful implementations in Solidity, including the transfer of voting rights, addition and retrieval of candidates, and vote viewing and result tallying. This team’s achievement in employing Solidity, a language they had no prior experience with, underscored their dedication and the practical application of blockchain technology in enriching community engagement and interaction.
Another team focused on creating a platform for verifying and managing luxury brand purchases using NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Their deliverable included uploading the receipt image and product details they intended to issue as an NFT, proceeding up to the payment of gas fees. They also presented their vision for the user interface and service design. The team elucidated the advantages of this service for both buyers and sellers while identifying challenges, such as the burden on sellers for NFT issuance and the need to adapt sales terms, including the right to revoke NFT proofs. This project highlighted the innovative potential of NFTs in enhancing the authenticity and management of luxury goods, addressing both the benefits and challenges of integrating blockchain technology into retail practices.
Another team’s concept revolved around a smartphone-compatible, NFT-based student ID. They elucidated four scenarios considering the university server, student users, and on-chain and off-chain dynamics. Their deliverable included the issuance of NFTs using the “POAP” (Proof of Attendance Protocol) and their verification using MetaMask. Additionally, they implemented a system to verify if a student possesses a specific NFT by matching the student’s token ID with the issuer’s token ID. This innovative approach to digital student IDs using NFT technology highlighted the potential for secure, verifiable, and portable identification solutions in educational settings.
Individual Growth Presentation:
Following the team presentations, a pivotal moment of the educational hackathon unfolded. Each student shared their personal growth and experiences over the two days. Presentation topics ranged from their programming journey and tasks undertaken during the hackathon to the areas where they experienced significant growth. Each student had one minute to convey their motivation and reflections on their Web3 journey over these two days. As the third educational hackathon of its kind, these stories of students engaging in Web3 product development and showcasing their growth proved genuinely inspiring. They highlighted their technical progress and unwavering enthusiasm and dedication to learning in this rapidly evolving field.
As the event concluded, students who shared their personal growth and experiences were presented with commemorative gifts from OKCoin Japan, a cryptocurrency exchange dedicated to talent development and education in Web3.
During the individual presentations by students, Mr. Kosako, a Web3 full-stack engineer and a graduate student of the Moriyama Laboratory who served as a mentor, developed a smart contract voting tool in a one-day solo hackathon. This tool allowed one vote per person and was used by everyone to cast blockchain-based votes for the student they believed had demonstrated the most growth. Interestingly, the student who received the most votes came from the humanities, specifically the management department.
The End
The two-day schedule of the Kindai University Students x Web3 Academic-Educational Hackathon concluded successfully. Special thanks were extended to participants from the Web3/cryptocurrency industry: Mr. Ito, a Solution Architect Engineer from Bunzz; Mr. Shirahama, an engineer from EverSystem and a graduate student of the Moriyama Laboratory; Mr. Kosako, a Web3 full-stack engineer and also a former Moriyama Laboratory graduate student; and Mr. Sagara from OKCoin Japan. Students expressed gratitude to these mentors for their invaluable learning and interaction opportunities. This scene underscored the immense value of educational hackathons.
This Web3 educational hackathon originated from the university’s request. The organizers pledge to continue hosting such events, regardless of scale, as long as there is demand from the university. Industry recognition of the necessity for Web3 talent development and the willingness to respond to requests from universities wholeheartedly embracing Web3 and education, like Kinki University, are considered essential. Without such collaboration between academia and industry, the expansion of the Web3 industry and the involvement of other universities would remain improbable. This event represents a significant stride in bridging the gap between academia and industry in Web3.
A heartfelt thank you to all the students who made this event a resounding success!
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Highlights from Day 2 of Kindai University’s Educational Hackathon was originally published in IOST on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
