Back at the hotel in Nicosia, we had breakfast around 8:30 am and afterwards, got on the bus to go to the University of Nicosia. There were company meetings and lectures scheduled all day, so I wasn’t as excited, but I ended up enjoying the day. 

First up, we met with Fleet Management Limited and discussed how they function within the shipping supply chain. There was an informative workshop afterwards where one of the captains was asking us about different shipping facts and testing our knowledge. It was very interactive and provided a bunch of useful statistics that helped me visualize the scale of their operations (like how 8,000 shoe boxes fit in one 40 ft. container). He had us clapping when people answered correctly, and it was a fun atmosphere. 

We finished up with FML and had lunch at The Block (the university cafeteria). I got a delicious pasta dish and had some time to relax with friends before going back into the amphitheater. 

Next, I learned about the concept of blockchain and cryptocurrency, which I was relatively unfamiliar with prior to the meeting. The CEO of the university gave the lecture and also told us about UNIC’s course offerings in cryptocurrency (also the first university to accept bitcoin as tuition). I was able to get a basic understanding of how the decentralized control of digital money allows for more freedoms and due process. Currently, companies like Facebook have control over their servers and can decide which people have access, but a decentralized control of the database would prevent that. 

We finished with a lecture about data forecasting (from a former Olympian), which I was particularly interested in. He hosts a competition that promotes innovative ways to predict trends and offers a large prize for the winner. The M6 competition is ongoing right now and uses real-time data. After the day was over, I was glad to have learned and understood more about topics that normally would confuse me.