From a refugee camp in Amsterdam to UNIC

On 23 September 2014, I was on a date with destiny.

My life changed in 24 hours after my skilled labor contract was not renewed in the Netherlands. As a Syrian National, my life stood still and the only option to stay in the Netherlands was to apply for asylum. I closed down my crypto start-up and upscaled mining operations to ask for refuge at the Asylum centre in North Holland.

Handing over all my documents, all that I was left with was my smartphone, internet connection, and bitcoin wallet. As the days passed by waiting for immigration’s decision to determine my future in the country, I stayed loyal to Bitcoin and the community, following up on price movements and the latest developments. Through social media forums, I heard about the MOOC course at the University of Nicosia.

I decided to make use of my free time and join the MOOC to study Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology. I didn’t realise at the time that it would be the best investment I ever made in the crypto markets.

From my first day and the very first lecture on the “History of Money”, I got hooked and realized the value that this unique certificate could bring me personally. It served as proof of goodwill that I could be useful in the Dutch community, and was an incentive for the Dutch Immigration authorities to grant me the right of asylum. This proof is in a form of a tamper-proof and tamper-evident certificate issued by an acknowledged and accredited university in Europe.

I finished the MOOC with top marks, and was granted asylum in the Netherlands. But these were not the reasons I immediately celebrated. A few weeks after I received my MOOC certificate, the University offered me a full scholarship to pursue their MSc in Digital Currency. An act that has changed my life forever as I became globally distinguished with a set of skills very few can acquire. The knowledge I gained allowed me to expand my horizons and think of solutions to world-class problems impacting the lives of millions of people. Group projects and weekly online meetups gave me the skills needed to sharpen my tools and build one of the rising startups in Europe, tykn.tech, which recently received the Chivas Ventures Award for 2019.

Throughout my journey, I have inspired hundreds of people to join the UNIC MOOC and pursue the MSc in Digital Currency. It is a unique chance to make the best investment in cryptocurrencies – Education. Invest in Education and learn about Alternative Applications to Blockchain, Regulation, Cryptography and much more. It is a UNIC experience.

Tey Al–Rjula

CEO / Co-founder, Tykn.tech
Digital Currency, Class of 2017