Scholarship: TON Labs & UM in Game-changing Tech

TON Labs has recently been gradually releasing an open source first-in-the-blockchain operating system TON OS – a comprehensive end-to-end ecosystem for developers and consumers, the core of which is built on top of the revolutionary Telegram Open Network blockchain protocol.

Given the open source nature of the solution, and extensive roadmap of future developments, there has been a compelling need for TON Labs to collaborate – with leading organisations and institutions in the world – in the DLT/Blockchain space on joint research and development.

The University of Malta has been pioneering focused worldclass education on Decentralised Ledger Technologies through its Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies, and is actively seeking global technological partnerships to provide its faculty and students with access to relevant, real world, research, business and product development challenges.

The collaboration, in the form of a scholarship, has been directed through the University’s Research Trust (RIDT) which will provide funding for a student to follow the ICT specialisation of the Multidisciplinary Master’s degree in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies.

The partnership began with TON Labs providing a scholarship to provide UM students with an incentive to contribute to the development of TON OS and applications on top of it. Initially, students will be engaged in actual product development on a wide range of tasks as part of their applied work at UM. Gradually, the complexity and scope of those tasks will be increased, allowing both students and the faculty to engage with more up-stream product development and research.

“We have been genuinely impressed with the proactive and strategic approach of the UM’s team to create a cutting edge DLT focused, educational and practical platform and are excited to give their students and faculty broad access to contributing to TON OS and applications on top of it. We are hoping that this will evolve into a deep and lasting relationship leading to joint research and the development of cutting edge solutions,” said Alexander Filatov, Managing Partner of TON Labs.

“This scholarship provided by

TON Labs demonstrates both their eagerness to support Blockchain-related education and their trust in the programme we have developed at the Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies.

“Such a scholarship scheme highlights the importance of our programme in building industry relationships which will foster an ecosystem beneficial to students, industry and academia,” said Dr Joshua Ellul, Director of the Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies.

This partnership came into being through the contributions of Blockchain Advisory, a Maltabased company specialising in the provision of strategic and regulatory advice on blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies and the implementation thereof.

Blockchain Advisory is a licensed VFA Agent and its Managing Director, Jonathan Galea, said: “This project goes to show that Malta’s efforts in the area of DLT/Blockchain are bearing fruit. Following the launch of a ground-breaking regulatory framework, the ecosystem is shaping up well, promising a bright and interesting future for the ‘Blockchain Island’”.