ConsenSys Academy has announced its first developer program class of 150+ blockchain developers, including 25 participants from the United Arab Emirates. The class gathers the successful candidates out of 1,300 applicants from 95 countries.

The finalists will be flown to Dubai for a three-day hackathon followed by the graduation ceremony which will be hosted in Dubai on Sunday 22 October 2017 in conjunction with the Smart Dubai Office (SDO). The graduation certificates will be issued on the Ethereum blockchain.

ConsenSys aims to address the global shortage of blockchain developers through the Academy’s program. The Dubai Blockchain Strategy was announced by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, on October 2016 as a joint initiative by the Smart Dubai Office and the Dubai Future Foundation.

The strategy’s objective is to make Dubai the first Blockchain-powered city by 2020. Addressing the gathering will be Joseph Lubin, cofounder of Ethereum and founder and CEO of ConsenSys, Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of Smart Dubai Office, and Wesam Lootah, CEO of Smart Dubai Government Establishment.

“Dubai continues to lead the pack in technology innovation. Hosting the final stage of this first-of-its- kind developer program is another step towards bolstering the emirate’s position as a global technology leader and the first blockchain-powered government,” said Dr. Bin Bishr.

“We believe that sharing advanced Ethereum blockchain development know-how supports Smart Dubai’s mission to implement the Dubai Blockchain Strategy 2020. We are proud to be an integral part of cultivating the blockchain ecosystem,” added Lubin. “This is an important step of a very ambitious program that will reshape the economy’s future.”