Gifted Education Fund: Coding, Cryptography and FinTech (CCF) Skills Education for Gifted Students

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Introduction

This programme aims to equip the gifted students with essential knowledge and skills related to cryptography and FinTech. Major topics such as blockchain, smart contracts, and digital assets will be covered. Relevant foundation mathematics will be introduced and coding tasks are offered wherever appropriate. Students are required to complete an individual mentorship research project by the end of the programme. The programme will also develop positive values and attitudes essential for future growth and development of the students.

Programme Objectives

  • To increase the awareness of gifted students on the importance and diverse applications of cryptography in the contemporary world;
  • To provide gifted students with the foundation of the mathematical concepts used in cryptography, financial technology (FinTech) and security programming, and for development of relevant applications;
  • To equip students with engineering skills and experiences through practicals and projects of blockchain systems development. Students will acquire the knowledge of blockchain platforms and smart contract development and deployment;
  • To develop the coding abilities of students in solving authentic problems related to FinTech and other blockchain related fields;
  • To provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their creativity and talents by presenting their designs to representatives of technology companies and other participants in a large-scale event; and
  • To nurture positive values and attitudes among the students such as perseverance to overcome problems, the ethics of deploying and using FinTech, the socio-economic implication of innovation and technology, etc.

Timeline

  Date and Time Contents

Phase 1: Foundational Guest Lectures

1

19 May 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Foundational Guest Lecture on Cryptography, Blockchain and FinTech

2

2 Jun 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Foundational Guest Lecture on Cryptography, Blockchain and FinTech

3

9 Jun 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Foundational Guest Lecture on Cryptography, Blockchain and FinTech

4

16 Jun 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Foundational Guest Lecture on Cryptography, Blockchain and FinTech

5

23 Jun 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Foundational Guest Lecture on Cryptography, Blockchain and FinTech

6

30 Jun 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Foundational Guest Lecture on Cryptography, Blockchain and FinTech

Phase 2: Progressive Study of Cryptography and Learning Basic Sage Programming

7

7 Jul 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Getting Familiar with the Coding Environment, GitHub and StackOverflow

8

14 Jul 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Security Fundamentals

9

21 Jul 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Classical Cryptography

10

28 Jul 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:0pm

Secret-key (Symmetric Key) Cryptography

11

4 Aug 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Secret-key (Symmetric Key) Cryptography
(Cont’d)

12

11 Aug 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Number Theory 

13

18 Aug 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Public-key (Asymmetric Key) Cryptography

14

25 Aug 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Public-key(Asymmetric Key) Cryptography
(Cont’d)

15

1 Sep 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Hashing Algorithm, Digital Signature

16

8 Sep 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Hashing Algorithm, Digital Signature (Cont’d)

Phase 3: Basic Theory of Blockchain: Consensus Mechanism, Data Structure and Digital Signature

17

15 Sep 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Background of Blockchain

18

22 Sep 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Consensus in Blockchain Technology – PoW, PoS Raft and PBFT

19

6 Oct 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Consensus in Blockchain Technology – PoW, PoS Raft, and PBFT (Cont’d)

20

13 Oct 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Data Structure – Merkle Root, Merkle Tree and Merkle Patricia Trie

21

20 Oct 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Bitcoin as a Use Case – Installations, Transactions, Node Types, Use of Blockchain Explorer, Querying Blockchain Data

22

27 Oct 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Cryptography in Blockchain - Transaction Signing and Creation, Address and Wallet Creation, Privacy, ECDSA, ECC, SHA-256

Phase 4: Applications of Blockchain: Cryptocurrency, Private Blockchain, Smart Contract and NFT; Hands-on Smart Contract Programming

23

3 Nov 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Blockchain Applications and Use Cases: Cryptocurrencies, Healthcare, Insurance

24

10 Nov 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Stablecoins

25

17 Nov 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Private Blockchain and Platforms

26

24 Nov 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Ethereum Blockchain, Smart Contracts and Smart Contract Standards

27

1 Dec 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Smart Contract Programming using Solidity, OpenZepplin and Remix

28

8 Dec 2023 (Fri)
5:30pm – 7:30pm

Distributed File System - InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

Phase 5: FinTech Project under Mentorship and Support; Project Exhibition and Competition

-

Dec 2023 –
Jan 2024

Mentorship Meetings, Student Project Exhibition and Competition

Medium of Instruction

Course Material: English
Class Teaching / Discussion: English supplemented with Cantonese

Application

Eligibility: Secondary 3-5 students in the 2022/23 school year who meet the following requirements:

  • Applicants should demonstrate great interest and outstanding performance in mathematics, and should be experienced in at least one text-based computer programming language such as Python, C/C++, Swift, Java and JavaScript.
  • They should also show eagerness to learn FinTech, cryptography and blockchain, etc.

Programme Fee: Free of charge

Application Procedure: Please complete the application form (Chinese/ English) and send the scanned copy by email to eegefp@cityu.edu.hk, AND then the original copy by post on or before 21 April 2023 (Fri) to the following address: Department of Electrical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong (Attn:  Prof.  Ray CHEUNG)

Application Deadline: 21 Apr 2023 (Fri)

 Result Announcement Date : By early May 2022 (tentative)

More information HERE.

Contact Information

Prof. Ray Cheung
Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering

City University of Hong Kong
Tel: 3442 9849
Email: eegefp@cityu.edu.hk