WatSPEED provides professional education designed to support the workforce of the future. Programs enable industry professionals to keep pace with emerging technologies and understand their impact on businesses, economies, the environment, and societies. Waterloo is at the forefront of an innovative approach to lifelong learning, helping the leaders of today and tomorrow navigate an ever-changing environment.
Overview: 
WatSPEED is developing a Digital Leadership program for international and interdisciplinary learners at the management level, including a short course on Blockchain Technologies. The program and course will be delivered mostly asynchronously and fully online. Currently, the expected start date is late August 2026. We are looking for a Course Author to work with the Program Academic Lead and WatSPEED Production team on this project.
Timeline:
- The start and end dates of the course are expected to be between mid-August 2026 and mid-September 2026
- Expected involvement in the course includes authorship duties in advance of the course start date within agreed-upon timelines with the WatSPEED production team, as well as post-offer debrief and revisions.
Details: 
Course materials will be developed prior to the course start, with support from the WatSPEED production team. Weekly course topics will enable achievement of the Learning Outcomes. Materials should include written and/or video content that provides knowledge on the course topics, which may be a combination of course author created content and content from other sources (books, articles, YouTube etc.).
Course graded activities will be created which align with the Learning Outcomes, which can include group and individual work such as essays, quizzes, simulations, case studies etc. Grading rubrics for these activities will be created to support grade determination.
The completed course will be approximately 3-4 weeks in length, and 15-20 hours of required learner effort. Instruction of the course by the author for the first offer is strongly preferred.
Course learning outcomes:
- Differentiate between a general ledger and a decentralized ledger
- Explain how a decentralized ledger enables the use of cryptocurrency
- Articulate the emerging value proposition of cryptocurrency for organizations
- Demonstrate understanding of non-fungible tokens and express their value for business
- Explore the ethical challenges related to blockchain technology and evaluate the future direction these issues are likely to take
Requirements:
- Ability to work within the project timeline outlined above.
- Demonstrated experience/expertise in the subject and content outlined. Both academic qualifications and industry experience demonstrating deep knowledge of blockchain technologies are applicable
- Ability to contextualize blockchain within broader business strategy, innovation, digital transformation, and emerging technology ecosystems, with a focus on managerial decision-making.
- Experience designing and delivering courses that bridge technical concepts with strategic business applications, and eLearning/online teaching experience and/or professional education experience an asset
Selections will be made on appropriate fit, knowledge/experience, and availability.
Service and remuneration:
- Will be based on the scope of engagement once identified.
Submission requirements and process:
Applicants are invited to make an expression of interest by responding to this REOI and following the outlined steps:
- Provide an expression of interest by email to Emma Cullen, senior manager, Production (emma.cullen@uwaterloo.ca) by no later than May 30, 2026.
Evaluation of submissions:
- Submissions will be considered as they are received.
- Stakeholders will convene to make selections.
- Selected parties will be contacted for further information and possible engagement.
- All Parties expressing interest will be contacted with information on the results of the REOI and any immediate or future involvement with WatSPEED.
Confidentiality:
Subject to the following, the expressions of interest received in response to this REOI are solely for use by the members involved in the selection. Information provided will be retained by the deciding panel and will not be distributed outside their purview.
Legal/limitations:
This REOI does not constitute a solicitation. This request is merely seeking an expression of interest in participating in the tender.
Response to this Request for Expression of Interest does not automatically ensure that submitting parties will be selected to participate in the subsequent phase of the project.
WatSPEED reserves the right to change or cancel the requirement at any time during the REOI and/or communication process.