Training and Research

PhD Programme Courses/classes

This page lists the training activities for the PhD programme for the academic year 2025/2026. Additional activities will be added during the year. Please check back regularly for updates!

Instructions for lecturers: managing lessons

Credits

3

Language

English

Class attendance

Free Choice

Location

VERONA

Learning objectives

Acquire basic knowledge about the blockchain technology, consensus algorithms, smart contracts and NFTs.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Knowledge acquired in a master's degree program in the mathematical-computer science area.

Program

The course introduces blockchain technology and its main applications. More specifically, it covers the following arguments:
* Introduction and history of the blockchain technology
* The Bitcoin blockchain
** What is a Bitcoin transaction and what is its life-cycle.
** Construction of a block of transactions.
** How to validate a block: Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism.
* The Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts.
** The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
** Smart contracts in Solidity
** What is a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and what are the differences with respect to PoW.
* Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)
* Application of blockchain technology for ensuring immutability and traceability

Didactic methods

In person lessons in the classroom or remotely.

Learning assessment procedures

Final project describing a possible application of blockchain technology in a specific research field.

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD), who intend to request the adaptation of the exam, must follow the instructions given HERE

Assessment

Learning the basic notions of blockchain technology and its potentiality in various research fields.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

There is no final grade

Scheduled Lessons

When Classroom Teacher topics
Friday 26 June 2026
09:30 - 12:30
Duration: 3:00 AM
Aula virtuale - Lezione online Sara Migliorini Introduction to the course. Bitcoin and its blockchain: transaction, block, validation, mining.
Friday 03 July 2026
09:30 - 12:30
Duration: 3:00 AM
Aula virtuale - Lezione online Sara Migliorini Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts.
Wednesday 08 July 2026
09:30 - 12:30
Duration: 3:00 AM
Aula virtuale - Lezione online Sara Migliorini Consensum algorithms (PoW and PoS). Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT).
Friday 17 July 2026
09:30 - 12:30
Duration: 3:00 AM
Aula virtuale - Lezione online Sara Migliorini Ethereum Layer 2 Solutions.