As part of the Interledger Foundation’s (ILF) $150,000 award to Bowie State University, the Interledger Student Scholars Program has launched. The Program represents a novel initiative designed to harness the potential of bright, motivated HBCU students in shaping the future of financial technology and digital payment systems. All scholars are hands-on leaders offering technical support, community engagement, and community-driven research to support open digital payments and protocols.

The 2024 Interledger Foundation Student Scholars are:

Felicia Ilori – Research Scholar pursuing a master’s degree in management information systems.  Her role will be to research and develop innovative strategies to enhance student participation and satisfaction in the program. 

Tomisin Laniyi- Community Engagement Scholar and business management major. Her work aims to bridge the Interledger community to Bowie State students and enhance understanding and implementation of crucial financial concepts, contributing to a well-informed and financially literate community.

Jonathan Hairston – Technical Liaison for Students and pursuing a master's degree in information systems. His role will be to support Interledger workshops by creating and supporting technical materials for students interested in delving into the technical side of open protocols and payments. This includes the development of tutorials, supporting code examples, and documentation designed to lower the barrier to entry for students eager to contribute.

“The Interledger Student Scholars embody the HBCU spirit of innovation, leadership, and tenacity, " said Dr. Andrew Mangle, Associate Professor at Bowie State University.  “The student's are dedicated to amplifying the open payment and protocols community for other students through awareness and by creating bridges to opportunities that pave the way for substantial and long-term impacts. As the advisor, I am proud and excited to support the scholars throughout their projects. I am confident their efforts will lead to an inclusive, connected, and vibrant digital finance community.”

The Interledger Student Scholars Program is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community of leaders and innovators. By providing resources, mentorship, and opportunities to students from various backgrounds, the program ensures a broad range of perspectives and ideas that are brought to the forefront of financial technology innovation. ILF hopes to expand the initiative and seeks to be a best-practices model for other institutions to emulate and enhance.

“Although our partnership is only in its second year, the students and staff at Bowie State University are already invaluable additions to our growing open source community,” said Briana Marbury, CEO and President of the Interledger Foundation. “Our goal with this alliance has been to introduce students to the concepts of innovation technology while simultaneously enhancing the potential career paths of exceptional scholars, and we are well on our way to succeed.”

The Interledger Foundation has funded people and ideas using the Interledger Protocol(ILP) to contribute to an open payments network built on equitable access through the internet. The foundation has awarded over $14 million to supporting projects and 188 grants in over 40 countries.