SYDNEY, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- While cryptocurrencies remain highly controversial and extremely volatile, one Australian university believes the algorithm that underpins the technology is definitely worth investing in.

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia announced on Tuesday that they will offer the nation's first short course on blockchain strategy, with the eight-week course set to begin during March.

"There is a real demand for blockchain training and a skills gap in the market that needs to be addressed and banks are already using it in a big way," fintech manager at Stone and Chalk Alan Tsen said.

For other sectors outside of finance, the automated, decentralised, shared ledger is also being adopted as a faster and cheaper way for organisations to keep track of their millions of daily transactions.

With areas like cybersecurity, electricity management and healthcare among those which could see the most potential for the innovative new technology, vice-chancellor of RMIT Martin Bean said that "blockchain is now becoming a core part of contemporary digital literacy."

Predicted to be worth 176 billion U.S. dollars globally by 2025 according to Gartner research, last year, the Australian government made their first investment into blockchain handing over 2.5 million U.S. dollars to a radical solar startup that aims to develop peer-to-peer energy trading.

"With every major innovation in technology comes great opportunities and new risks," RMIT Online chief executive officer Helen Souness said.

"At RMIT we believe individuals and businesses need to understand technology quickly, to adapt their strategy to meet these opportunities."

"This course aims to do that."