Faculty Advisor: Research economist, Central Bank of Mexico

What is Accelerated Research Practicum

Accelerated Research Practicum combines both recorded and live sessions with the Faculty Advisor and allows students to achieve tangible outcomes and potentially earn a letter of recommendation in a shorter period of time.

Practicum Introduction

In November 2021, the crypto market reached a value of 3 trillion, exceeding the market cap of Apple, the most valuable company in the world.

How did crypto come this far? Should you invest in them? In this program, students will learn the fundamentals, price history, and investing strategies for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In particular, they will understand What BTC is. Why does it have value? What are smart contracts? What is the price history of BTC and ETH? What are the risks associated with crypto assets? Students will also learn how to construct trading and investing strategies on crypto assets from the ground up.

The faculty advisor will guide students on which topic they should choose for their final project. Students will have access to a combination of videos, notes, and project topics that they can pursue for their final projects. 

At the end of the program, each student will complete a concise 3-5 page research paper or proposal, and submit it to the faculty advisor for a final review. 

(Disclaimer: This program is purely for educational purposes. It is not to give financial advice on personal financial investments.)

Possible Topics For Final Project:

• Identify the past bull and bear cycles in crypto assets and some of their causes. 

• A brief history of NFTs. What are they? What are the most valuable ones? Why do they have value?

• What are halving’s, and how do they influence prices? 

• Analyze a specific company building a decentralized application on Ethereum. What is the product they are making? What is their token useful for? 

• Analyze the token price and products the top crypto gaming companies offer. 

• Describe Decentralized Finance (Defi) in simple words and explain the most successful working Defi applications.

• Or other topics in this subject area that you are interested in, and that your professor approves after discussing it with you

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 2-5 students

• Duration: 4 weeks

• Target Students: 7-12th grade students who are interested in applied math, finances, economics, statistics, actuarial sciences, data science and computer science and wish to complete a research project with a prestigious professor rapidly to boost their research experience and obtain deliverables that can be used for college applications and other programs.

Program Structure

• Week 1: Students and the faculty advisor will discuss in a live session the available project topics and agree on a set of goals for the project. 

• Week 1-3: Students will complete an extensive recorded video research program, including core videos that must be completed and optional advanced videos for students with higher aims.

• Week 4: Students will complete their research project and submit for review. They will also have a second live session with their faculty advisor to ask questions, discuss their findings, and conclude their research experience very positively.