Groundbreaker Talent Takes on Blockchain Summer School
Groundbreaker Talent Patience Sitati from Cohort 4 recently spent three weeks in South Africa at the Deep Dive into Blockchain International Summer School, learning alongside students from around the world.
Patience was selected for a fully funded place in the international program, led by the University of Zurich and hosted at Stellenbosch University in South Africa from 5–25 July 2026.
Over three weeks, participants explored blockchain technology from different perspectives, worked on practical applications, and connected with students, researchers, and professionals from different countries and disciplines.
Looking Beyond Cryptocurrency
Blockchain is often associated primarily with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The Summer School focused on the much broader potential of the technology.
Through lectures, workshops, and hands-on sessions, participants explored topics including distributed systems, smart contracts, decentralized finance, governance, and blockchain regulation.
A central theme was how blockchain can be used to create trust, transparency, and verification in digital systems, with potential applications across sectors far beyond finance.
FundBlock Takes Second Place
The program concluded with a team project focused on applying blockchain to a real-world challenge. Patience and four other participants developed FundBlock, a concept exploring how the technology could make higher-education funding more transparent and accountable.
The team created a prototype to demonstrate the idea, and FundBlock placed second in the program’s final presentations.
“FundBlock brought together two things I care deeply about: technology and access to education. It showed me how important it is to build technology around real-world challenges, rather than using technology for its own sake.” – Sitati Patience, Cohort 4.
Representing Female Tech Talent from Uganda
Patience’s participation reflects what we love to see at Groundbreaker: our Talents taking their skills into international learning environments, building global networks, and representing female tech talent from Uganda.
Congratulations, Patience – we’re proud you’re a Groundbreaker!
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