Blockchain-based training successfully delivered to Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
In keeping with the Lassonde Professional Development (LPD) goal of offering forward-thinking, experiential training, LPD’s three-day Blockchain Business Model Development course was successfully completed by a group of 35 employees from Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) in early March 2022.
OSFI is an independent agency of the Government of Canada, established in 1987 to contribute to the safety and soundness of the Canadian financial system. OSFI supervises and regulates federally registered banks and insurers, trust and loan companies, as well as private pension plans subject to federal oversight.
The goal of the training was to increase knowledge of block chain infrastructures to inform OSFI’s supervisory and regulatory practices.
OSFI participants’ knowledge of blockchain principles and foundations ranged, but all attended the March session with the understanding they would be integrating the technology more regularly into their work-related planning and applications. Along with three days of intensive training, the course ended with group work on multiple capstone projects and related reports.
The objective of the course was for each participant to identify a problem and then solve it using the blockchain business model that framed the training. In preparation, participants reviewed different blockchain platforms to determine how each could be applied. To reinforce this learning, everyone was given the opportunity to assess a series of curated white papers that focused on solutions to comparable blockchain projects. The assessment was intended to inform the OSFI team and immerse them in their own projects, while also reminding them of pitfalls to avoid along the way. As they worked through the projects, they were guided on legal frameworks and regulations that exist across different blockchain jurisdictions. At the end of the training, and through the capstone itself, participants were asked to articulate different approaches to using blockchain technology and how these approaches add value to a company, an institution or new business venture.
The LPD online Blockchain Business Model Development course has the added advantage of bringing trainers and guest speakers together from around the world. The OSFI session saw an exceptional team under course lead and designer Mohamed El Kandri. Mohamed was joined by Nasser Rahal, an expert in international technology transformation and management; Shaan Ray, a technology entrepreneur specializing in blockchain strategy; and Amy Ter Haar, one of Canada’s top specialists in fintech and blockchain, as well as the Program Director for Osgoode Professional Development’s Certificates in Blockchain Law and Cybersecurity Law.
For the March 2022 offer, the team connected from Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, the UK (Cambridge University) and Canada. Participant feedback was positive and spoke to the way the three-day session provided a better understanding of Blockchain basics along with specific expertise in areas like distributed ledger applications and the legal implications of using this still relatively new but ever-growing technology. Many participants noted the session’s practical examples triggered a desire to learn more about the rapidly evolving world of blockchain. At the same time, feedback suggested participants attained the goal OSFI set out to achieve, which was better understanding what and how blockchain and its innovative applications function across daily work needs and demands.