4‑Year Post‑Graduate Program
“Economics & Engineering of Sovereign Systems” (E2S²)
A joint doctorate‑level track delivered by HBS, SEAS (Engineering), and the Kennedy School. Cohort size: 25.
Year 1 — Foundations & Cross‑Disciplinary Fluency
| Module | Key Focus | Scholar‑agenda Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Data Dignity & Information Fiduciaries (HBS + Law) | History of data property vs. dignity; JSON‑LD lease design; fiduciary liability | SD1 |
| Cryptography for Business Scholars (SEAS) | ZKPs, post‑quantum signatures, differential privacy; hands‑on circuits | SD2 |
| Distributed‑Systems Security | TEEs, enclave economics, threat modelling for nano‑services | SD2, SD4 |
| Edge Economics & Energy | Cost curves of on‑device AI vs. cloud; carbon accounting | SD4 |
| Research Methods Studio | Formal proof writing, agent‑based simulation, field experiments | Crosscutting |
Milestone: pass a Qualifying Integration Exam—solve a case that requires cryptographic design and business‑model justification.
Year 2 — Prototype & Field Deployment
| Module | Key Focus |
|---|---|
| Zero‑Rent Market Design | Stake‑slash pools, public‑goods funding, coop tokenomics |
| Termination‑Proof Engineering Lab | Build a self‑revoking nano‑service; formally verify state deletion |
| Policy Sandbox (at KSG’s reg‑tech clinic) | Draft model statutes for data‑lease and proof‑of‑help ledgers; pitch to regulators |
| Global Tech Foresight Practicum | 8‑week fieldwork: deploy edge inference in emerging market health or agri contexts |
Milestone: publish a working‑paper prototype with open‑source repo; secure IRB if human data used.
Year 3 — Original Research & Ecosystem Trials
Doctoral candidacy granted after proposal defence.
Students join one of four faculty labs aligned to the scholar agendas:
| Lab | Research Thread |
|---|---|
| Data‑Dignity Economics | Incentive equilibria for leased data; pricing models for derivative insight royalties |
| Provable Oblivion Group | Formal methods, side‑channel audits, scalable ZKP compression |
| Security‑Without‑Rents | Sustainability of stake‑slash and bounty pools; longitudinal measurement |
| Edge‑AI Sustainability | Life‑cycle energy & carbon trade‑offs, jurisdictional compliance proof protocols |
Industry partners (Apple Secure Enclave, Intel SGX, NIST PQC group, European Data Act task‑force) supply datasets and pilot sites.
Milestone: submit two peer‑reviewed articles; teach a “nano‑service studio” mini‑course to MBA electives.
Year 4 — Dissertation & Policy Translation
Dissertation requirements: one technical paper + one economic/policy paper + “translation artifact” (open‑spec, regulatory brief, or startup prototype).
Capstone: E2S² Global Symposium—present proofs‑of‑concept to venture funds, standards bodies, and NGOs; negotiate implementation pilots.
Graduates receive Doctor of Business Engineering (DBE) jointly conferred by HBS and SEAS.
Undergraduate Curriculum Advisory (All Universities)
Objective: seed interdisciplinary fluency so graduates can enter the E2S² stream or equivalent.
Core Competencies to Embed (Years 1‑4)
| Area | Courses / Activities |
|---|---|
| Computational Literacy | CS 1 (Python), “Algorithms & Society,” Intro Cryptography |
| Data Ethics & Privacy | Philosophy “Data & Personhood,” Legal Studies “Tech Law Basics” |
| Distributed Systems | Networking fundamentals, Cloud vs. Edge lab |
| Applied Economics | Price theory, Game theory, Public‑goods economics |
| Carbon & Energy Science | Intro climate science, Energy accounting lab |
| Design & Storytelling | Human‑centered design course; technical writing |
Recommended Electives
- “Zero‑Knowledge Proofs for Non‑CS Majors” (math + hands‑on).
- “Digital Governance & Policy Hackathon” (produce draft statutes).
- “Edge‑AI Makerspace” (Raspberry Pi + ONNX vision projects).
- “Open Source Security Clinics” (run CVE triage on campus software).
Capstone‑Ready Experiences
- Interdisciplinary senior thesis option on data dignity economics or edge‑AI security.
- Collaborative “nano‑service case competition” with local NGOs—build an agent that solves a real micro‑problem, supply proof‑of‑help receipt, delete itself.
By graduating, undergrads should:
- Write and critique a data‑lease manifest.
- Explain—conceptually—how a ZKP can prove compliance while hiding input.
- Estimate joule‑per‑inference trade‑offs between phone and cloud.
- Debate funding models for open‑source security under zero‑rent conditions.
Universities that weave these elements across CS, economics, law, and design will equip students to thrive in the post‑platform, nano‑service economy—and feed directly into advanced programs like E2S².