Brief Project Description
Western Sydney University’s Next-Gen Secure FinTech for Digital Financial Inclusion Using Interledger program brings together education, practical innovation, community engagement and career development. Students learn about the Interledger Protocol, Open Payments, secure digital finance, privacy, regulatory compliance and financial inclusion through professional development modules, public outreach and a FinTech hackathon. The program also includes student microgrants, a FinTech Career Day, an annual conference and an open-source learning hub. Its purpose is to equip diverse students with future-focused skills while making open and interoperable payment technologies more understandable and accessible to the wider community.
Project Update
The project has made strong progress. Three major milestones have been completed: Community Day/Open Day engagement, launch of the Interledger Professional Development Modules and delivery of the WSU Interledger Hackathon. The next phase focuses on student microgrants, FinTech Career Day, the annual conference and continued development of open learning resources.
Milestone 1: Community Day and Open Day Engagement - Completed
On 5 July 2026, the project team hosted an Interledger booth at Western Sydney University Open Day. The activity introduced prospective students, families and members of the public to Interledger, Open Payments, cybersecurity and the upcoming hackathon. Public posts reported engagement with approximately 100 to 150 visitors during the day.
Pepper the social robot was a central engagement feature. A custom application was designed for Pepper to support public engagement at the WSU Open Day booth. Through this application, Pepper introduced visitors to Interledger, Open Payments and the project’s focus on secure, inclusive and interoperable digital finance. Visitors interacted with Pepper while staff and student volunteers explained Interledger and open payments. Pepper helped attract visitors and created an accessible starting point for conversations about a technical subject. The booth also used an Interledger information video and a Minecraft demonstration to provide a practical and interactive explanation of open payments. The team promoted the hackathon and conference and explained how interested participants could access learning opportunities.
The activity combined technology demonstrations with student-to-community conversations.
Milestone 2: Interledger Professional Development Modules - Completed
The Interledger Professional Development Modules were launched for Western Sydney University cybersecurity students undertaking placement. The modules prepared students for the hackathon while introducing Interledger, Open Payments, secure and interoperable financial technologies and wider challenges affecting the future of digital payments.
The eight-week curriculum design covers foundations of Open Payments, Interledger Protocol architecture, security and privacy, regulatory compliance and responsible innovation, followed by a team-based capstone project. The wider learning design addresses the Link, Ledger, Interledger, Transport and Application layers, together with interoperability, cryptographic security, system design and real-world use cases.
Students also received practical preparation resources, including a configured virtual environment, setup guidance, a Rafiki Playground environment, mock bank interfaces and a peer-to-peer demonstration application. These materials enabled students to explore simulated payments and become familiar with the development environment before the hackathon.
Milestone 3: WSU Interledger Hackathon - Completed
After an orientation and setup session on 19 August 2026, the full-day WSU Interledger Hackathon took place on 26 August 2026. Public reporting described around 50 participants working in teams on the theme AI-Powered Interoperable Secure Payments for Asia-Pacific and the Global Digital Future.
Students designed and prototyped practical solutions that combined artificial intelligence, Interledger/Open Payments, cybersecurity, privacy and financial inclusion. Their ideas addressed challenges in education, small business, community support and digital services. Teams moved from problem definition to prototype and presentation within one intensive day.
The judging framework considered innovation and problem understanding, real-world value and financial inclusion, user experience and accessibility, cybersecurity and privacy, feasibility and sustainability, and technical implementation. Interledger Foundation representatives Dragos Palade and Adrian Boros contributed expertise and judging support. Tamara Watson, Robert Beutel and Abdul Razeed also contributed to the judging process, while project assistants Ivan Solomon and Arjaan Prasad supported event delivery.
Challenges and Learning
Students entered the program with different levels of technical experience. The project responded through scaffolded modules, orientation activities, configured development resources and hands-on support. The hackathon also reinforced the need to continue strengthening students’ practical implementation of Open Payments alongside strong ideas, user-centred design and financial-inclusion goals.
Project Impact & Target Audience(s)
The program supports students in cybersecurity, business, digital finance and related disciplines, while also reaching prospective students, families, local communities and people with limited prior exposure to FinTech. The intended beneficiaries include women and girls in technology, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, migrants and refugees, first-in-family students, Indigenous communities, people with disabilities and other underserved groups.
The project contributes to the Interledger Foundation’s mission by building knowledge of open and interoperable payments, creating opportunities for new contributors and connecting technical education with digital financial inclusion. The completed milestones show impact at three levels:
Education and technical capacity: Students progressed from structured learning to collaborative prototyping and presentation.
Community awareness: Open Day visitors encountered Interledger through accessible explanations, Pepper the robot, video content, Minecraft and conversations with student volunteers.
Student confidence and leadership: Students practised explaining technical concepts, supporting prospective learners and representing the project publicly.
Progress on Objectives, Key Activities
The project is progressing well against its stated objectives, with three core activities already completed and the remaining activities underway. The completed work demonstrates a strong connection between community engagement, student learning and practical innovation in open and interoperable payments.
Community Day and public engagement: This objective has been completed. The project team delivered an Interledger booth at Western Sydney University Open Day on 5 July 2026. The booth introduced prospective students, families, and community members to Interledger, Open Payments, cybersecurity, and digital financial inclusion through Pepper the robot, video materials, Minecraft demonstrations, student volunteers, and direct promotion of the hackathon and conference.
Interledger Professional Development Modules: This objective has been completed. The modules were launched for cybersecurity placement students and Bachelor of Business students and provided structured preparation in Interledger, Open Payments, interoperability, cybersecurity, privacy and key digital-payment challenges. The learning design supported students in building foundational knowledge before applying it in practical activities.
WSU Interledger Hackathon: This objective has been completed. The full-day hackathon took place on 26 August 2026, following an orientation and setup session on 19 August. Around 50 participants were reported publicly, with students working in teams to develop prototypes, present ideas, receive mentoring and take part in a judging process focused on innovation, inclusion, usability, cybersecurity, feasibility and technical implementation.
Student Microgrant Program: This activity is in progress. Promising student projects from the hackathon are being considered for support so selected students can continue developing, refining and disseminating their ideas beyond the event.
FinTech Career Day: This activity is in progress. The planned Career Day will connect students with professionals and highlight career pathways in Open Payments, secure FinTech, cybersecurity, digital finance and related fields.
Annual Conference: This activity is in progress. The conference is being developed as a platform for student presentations, finalist pitches, keynote contributions, networking and broader discussion about open payments and digital financial inclusion.
Open-Source Learning Hub: This activity is in progress. Learning materials, module content, and hackathon resources are being prepared for broader sharing to support continued educational use and community access beyond the initial delivery period.
Communications and Marketing
The project has been actively promoted through a combination of public engagement, digital communication and student-facing outreach. Communication activities have included the WSU Open Day booth, the project website, online learning resources, student announcements, orientation communications, LinkedIn posts, internal university channels, photographs and video documentation. These activities have helped make Interledger, Open Payments and digital financial inclusion more visible to students, families, prospective learners, community members and external partners.
Public Posts
Ala Al-Areqi: Open Day, Pepper robot and community engagement - Documents the Open Day booth, reported visitor reach, Pepper, the Interledger video, Minecraft demonstration, volunteers and Interledger Foundation support. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ala-al-areqi-ba2729105_on-5-july-2026-we-had-the-opportunity-to-activity-7479769353631055873-qhjg
Ala Al-Areqi: Interledger Professional Development Modules - Documents the module launch and its role in preparing placement students for the hackathon. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ala-al-areqi-ba2729105_wsu-interledger-workshop-activity-7493846296961880064-37RC
Ala Al-Areqi: WSU Interledger Hackathon - Reports on the hackathon, around 50 participants, project development, collaboration, judging and alignment with several Sustainable Development Goals. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ala-al-areqi-ba2729105_it-was-fantastic-to-see-around-50-wsu-participants-activity-7498922399426424832-5nRp
Ivan Solomon: Open Day student reflection - Provides a student perspective on explaining Interledger, speaking with prospective students and families, working with Pepper and developing confidence. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/idsolomon_reflective-post-winter-2026-three-years-activity-7479886037624848384-_Ihu
Interledger Open Payments App Demonstration with Pepper
https://youtu.be/Rtz0i5h6i3M
Interledger Protocol explained using Minecraft
https://youtu.be/P7dO1b_5yw4
Pepper explains Interledger Protocol
https://youtube.com/shorts/0AOs7RyShpU
Use of Marketing and Engagement Resources
Marketing and engagement resources made the project accessible, visible, and engaging for both community and student audiences. These resources included pull-up banners, posters, video promotion, printed materials, public demonstrations, Pepper robot engagement, hackathon catering, student participation support, research-assistant support and development of learning content. The dedicated YouTube channel further strengthens the project’s communication strategy by providing a platform to share project videos, Pepper demonstrations, hackathon highlights, and future learning resources. Financial details will be reported separately through the formal University and Interledger financial-reporting process.
YouTube channel: The project has also established a dedicated YouTube channel, WSU Interledger Digital Inclusion (https://youtube.com/@wsuinterledgerdigitalinclusion?si=V1LQZ9vcKheNFFSO), to share videos and media from the project, including the Pepper robot Interledger Open Payments demonstration, hackathon content, student engagement activities and future project updates. The channel will support broader dissemination of the project’s learning resources and public engagement material.
What’s Next?
During the remainder of the funded period, the project will focus on the following priorities:
- Complete the student microgrant selection and support promising student projects to continue beyond the hackathon.
- Deliver the FinTech Career Day, connecting students with professionals, researchers, employers and industry partners.
- Deliver the annual Interledger conference as a platform for student showcases, finalist pitches, keynote contributions, networking and dialogue about open payments and digital financial inclusion.
- Continue compiling educational and student-created resources for the Open-Source Learning Hub.
- Collect and analyse participation, feedback and learning evidence for final evaluation and reporting.
Community Support
We would welcome continued engagement from the Interledger community as the project moves into its next phase. Community members, practitioners, educators and industry partners can support the program by sharing expertise, giving feedback, mentoring students and helping us connect student ideas with real-world open payments challenges.
- Technical feedback on student prototypes and Open Payments implementation.
- Connections with Interledger practitioners, mentors and potential collaborators.
- Industry speakers and panellists for Career Day and the annual conference.
- Mentoring for student microgrant projects.
- Case studies, educational materials and open-source contribution opportunities.
- Promotion of student work, project videos and learning resources across the wider Interledger community.
Additional Comments
The project’s strongest feature has been the connection between public engagement, structured learning and practical innovation. Community members encountered Interledger through Pepper and interactive demonstrations. Students then progressed through professional development modules and technical preparation before developing and presenting project ideas at the hackathon.
The public reflections also show two complementary forms of impact. At the program level, they document participation, collaboration, education and delivery. At the individual level, they show students gaining confidence, communicating technical concepts and seeing themselves as contributors to the Interledger community. With three major milestones completed, the project is now moving toward sustained student innovation, career pathways and broader dissemination.
Relevant Links/Resources (optional)
- WSU Interledger Hackathon event site (https://sites.google.com/view/hackathontest/home)
- Open Payments learning resources(https://sites.google.com/view/hackathontest/resources/open-payments?authuser=0)
- Interledger Professional Development Modules (https://ilp-wsu.innomente.com/)
- WSU Interledger Digital Inclusion YouTube Channel (https://youtube.com/@wsuinterledgerdigitalinclusion?si=V1LQZ9vcKheNFFSO)
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