Musabbir Chowdhury, PhD, presents at DIF 2018

Musabbir Chowdhury, PhD,  business professor and project director of NC’s Productivity and Innovation Lab (Pi Lab) recently travelled to Lyon, France to present at the at the International Conference on Digital, Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Financing (DIF 2018) hosted by INSEEC University June 11-12.

As a speaker at the conference, Chowdhury presented his thoughts based on Pi Lab’s research related to blockchain technology, crypto economy and business productivity.

With DIF 2018 being one of the first international economic conferences that focused on blockchain, Chowdhury noted that it was logical to present Pi Lab’s current research in front of the international community and publish the paper entitled ‘SME productivity in the Era of Blockchain Disruption.’

“Niagara College was the only college representation in attendance at this conference so, in that respect, it was very rewarding,” said Chowdhury. “This was a great opportunity to not only speak about the Pi Lab but the benefits of a hands-on education we deliver to our students base on our research with emerging and disruptive technologies.”

Chowdhury’s presentation at DIF 2018 focused on how disruptive technologies such as blockchain, distributed ledger, and smart contracts can be leveraged to boost productivity, competitive advantage and, specifically, how blockchain can be used to minimize the competitive gap between Canadian SMEs and larger companies. With Canada’s net exports being negative, solving some financial complications with blockchain would help in the future of Canada’s import-export ratio. In addition, Chowdhury spoke about how distributed ledger with decentralized verification can be used for the supply chain of industries such as cannabis, wine and garments to establish verification, transparency, and trust.

In addition to the conference’s main theme aligned with Pi Lab’s research interest, Chowdhury noted that attending was an opportunity to meet other academics, researchers and business professionals in the blockchain field to discuss future partnerships and joint projects. Currently, Pi Lab is working on several Fintech-related projects to further the student experience in innovation technology and research that would benefit from international partnerships, and Chowdhury pointed out that research associates would also benefit from the hands-on experience they obtain at Pi Lab.

“At Pi Lab, we are always exploring how emerging technologies can be leveraged to boost productivity,” he said.

Chowdhury has been a business professor and project director at Pi Lab since August 2014.

About Pi Lab

Pi-Lab is the Niagara College‘s School of Business-based think tank. Activities focus on external clients, funding, and corporate partnership. Pi-Lab’s current initiatives are geared across Canada, the United States, and the European Union. Its international initiatives are designed to help prototype, test and execute innovative ideas for a wide range of markets. Visit  www.pi-lab.ca