Academic Program for Students and Entrepreneurs on the Cardano Platform in Venezuela

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

José Erasmo Colmenares Salas

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

JEAN CARLOS AGUILAR

FUNINTEC

https://www.funintec.net/

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

Yes

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We offer a training and mentoring program to students and entrepreneurs in order to get knowledeg about Cardano blockchain technology that they can adopt and use this technology in theirs ventures

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

The support of the Generalísimo Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Open International University is important because it will certify the learning that will be taught, as well as allow the subsequent incubation of the business proposals that arise from this project.

The proponent Jose Erasmo Colmenares is a General Director of Professional and Academic Research Center of UNIAGSFMI

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

I am declaring the project is open source. the project should be open source-available throughout the entire lifecycle of the project with a declared open-source repository. The repository is going to be the github and discord.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG rating: The proposal is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the relevant United Nations sub-goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that allow the development and execution of the project.

The objectives and sub-objectives are the following:

SDG 4: Quality education

Sub-goal 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

Sub-goal 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable people, including people with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations

SDG 5: Gender equality 

Sub-goal 5.5: Ensure the full and effective participation of women and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. 

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth 

Sub-goal: 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation

Sub-goal 8.6: By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth without employment, education or training. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 

Sub-goal: 9.3: Increase access of small industrial and other businesses to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into valuechains and markets.

Sub-goal 9.5: Enhance scientific research, enhance the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, particularly developing countries. 

SDG 10 

Sub-goal 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status. Sub-goal 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50% of median income, disaggregated by age, sex, disability and other characteristics.

Indicators :

KPI: number of students trained and trained in entrepreneurship with Cardano's blockchain technology.

KPI: Number of female students trained and formed in entrepreneurship with Cardano's Blockchain technology

KPI: Number of male students trained and educated in entrepreneurship with Cardano's Blockchain technology

KPI: Number of students with start-up Cardano Blockchain technology-based ventures

KPI: Number of ventures generated with the Cardano blockchain technology

KPI: Number of clusters created by participating students with Cardano's blockchain technology. KPI: Number of students incorporated into the Cardano community and actively participating in Cardano projects or initiatives.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

The recent measures to reactivate the national economy and particularly the support for entrepreneurship promoted by the Venezuelan national executive that allows a legal framework that consolidates new and existing businesses, as well as the generation of employment and improvement of the climate to make viable company in the country is an important advance. The growing boom in blockchain technologies and accessibility to knowledge requires discipline in its exercise and dissemination, so that its applicability develops in a favorable environment, which values and promotes innovation in terms of services and products oriented to real needs. in people's lives and constantly improving. That is why there is a great opportunity to develop a community and ecosystem in Venezuela with the Cardano platform, since national companies and industries do not know or have very little use and benefits of the services and products generated by the Cardano platform. In this sense, the project that is presented is aimed at empowering undergraduate and graduate students and from universities that live in the city of Caracas, Venezuela, through the creation and consolidation of the Blockchain Technology Base. Cardano that will offer them training, mentoring and financial support to start their digital ventures using the Cardano platform based on the development of their digital economy proposals in their different lines of work. Within this framework, the student entrepreneurs trained and consolidated by the Incubator could support and increase with the use of the aforementioned platform offering its services and products with Cardano's blockchain technology that can improve business processes and thus consolidate and increase more followers and create a national digital economy with disruptive technologies and decentralized finance based on Cardano. Solution proposals The project's main objective is to offer a space for training, mentoring and consolidation for the ventures of undergraduate and postgraduate students from Venezuelan universities, which will be supported by the Blockchain Cardano Technology-Based Incubator for the development and consolidation of the same.

Description of the Solutions are:

Milestone 1- Creation of Cardano Blockchain Technology Academic Programme

The creation of Academic Programme will be established with the support of CIAPUNIAGSFMI to allow its legal operation in Venezuela and internationally. In this way, time and conformation and consolidation processes are saved, as well as the academic certification of the training. The Academic Programme of Cardano Blockchain Technology will have a presencial and virtual modality for greater reach and access of the participants in the training and tutoring processes with face-to-face events in spaces that will be contracted for this purpose. 

Milestone 2- Training to Student and Entrepreneurs 

This milestone is training in the areas of Cardano blockchain technology that guides them towards a sustained growth of its technology-based ventures and their consolidation. This initial phase will be carried out using the technological platform that will be created and implemented for hybrid and online training as well as in person. It is important to indicate that the translations of the documents and videos that are necessary in the training of Cardano technology in Spanish will be carried out so that the information and knowledge transfer is more effective and reaches the participants.

Diploma Courses:

• General Aspects of the Digital Economy and the Blockchain (16 academic hours)
• Cardano blockchain technology Web 3 (16 academic hours)
• Characteristics and how the Cardano Blockchain works (16 academic hours)
• Overview of Crypto currencies and Wallets (16 academic hours)
• Decentralized applications (DApps) (24 academic hours)
• Types of Cardano crypto assets and their use : NFT's and more (24 academic hours)
• What is a smart contract? (16 academic hours)
• How to participate in Cardano ecosystem (16 academic hours)
• How to create and present a project idea in web 3 in Cardano (24 academic hours)

Total Academic hours : 168

Milestone 3- Mentorship of Entrepreneurial Students 

Facilitate the insertion of national mentoring capacities to the processes of competitive improvement of entrepreneurs and ventures in the target population for the formulation of entrepreneurship projects. For this objective, a team of 10 mentors will be formed and created. Target population       

The target population to be included is based on undergraduate and graduate university students and entrepreneurs that are in our University as project pilots. In this sense, 10 professors and 10 professionals will be trained as teachers and mentors, in gender equality, in Cardano technology and mentoring of entrepreneurship projects and, additionally, the goal will be the formation of 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students and entrepreneurs , which gives a total of 70 participants in the project who will be replicators for the next mentors of the new generations of participants in the entrepreneurship projects.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

The approach to the solution of the proposal is based on objective 2 of the challenge that indicates the following;

Activities to encourage students and entrepreneurs who propose Catalyst and blockchain engineers, which in a process of training in the areas of Cardano blockchain technology to students who are part of the universities in Venezuela enrollment as the first impulse where there are a base of 50 students and entrepreneurs and that they achieve, the concretion and consolidation of entrepreneurship projects linked to Cardano Blockchain Technology. In this sense, the following ways of approaching the solution and expected benefits are proposed, which are: 

1-     Empower and encourage student entrepreneurship: The proposal through the training of the participants the training in Cardano blockchain technology will allow them to have the knowledge and application in its.

2-     The opportunity gap and student access: The purpose of the proposed solution is for students to have access to knowledge and initial funds to be able to develop and launch their entrepreneurial projects. At this point, it is our proposal that the gender issue be as egalitarian as possible so that they can benefit from the possibilities that Cardano's blockchain technology 

3-     Support for participants in this academic programme In order to be able to have funds to be able to offer them to entrepreneurship projects that are more viable and add value for companies, the development of easier and faster processes is planned to offer them to viable entrepreneurship projects for their consolidation and support. through the incubator that the CIAPUNIAGSFMI have in its campus.

The benefits for the Cardano ecosystem are as follows: 

a- Increase the entrepreneurial potential of undergraduate and postgraduate students and entrepreneurs with the training and mentoring of Cardano Blockchain technology

b- Incorporate the population in the use of Cardano Blockchain technology in ventures

c- Offer greater inclusion and decrease the gaps of young people by sex, gender or ethnicity in Venezuela

d- Create a space for the development of networks for the generation of knowledge and collective learning with the community that promotes innovation within disruptive technologies e- Promote the creation of Clusters with students and entrepreneurs that allow the generation of synergies between the different forms of disruptive technologies with the use of the Cardano platform.

f- Greater growth of the Cardano ecosystem in Venezuela with the adoption and use of Cardano cryptocurrencies in the national economic system that allows greater competitiveness.

The proposal through the training of the participants academic programme the Cardano blockchain technology will allow them to have the knowledge and application in the enterpreneurship in this ecosystem.

2- The opportunity gap and access: The purpose of the proposed solution is for students and entrepreneurs to have access to knowledge and initial funds to be able to develop and launch their entrepreneurial projects. At this point, it is our proposal that the gender issue be as egalitarian as possible so that they can benefit from the possibilities that Cardano's blockchain technology

3- Creation of clusters : The intention is that through the mentors, clusters with students and can be built using the Cardano platform that can empower and grow the community with the participants who manage to launch their entrepreneurial projects with solutions to the needs. business and industrial in Venezuela. 

4- Support of the Entrepreneurship in the Incubator that CIAPUNIAGSFMI actually have in order to be able to offer them to entrepreneurship projects that are more viable and add value for companies.

The validation of the objectives is proposed as follows:

 • Increase the entrepreneurial potential of undergraduate and postgraduate students with the training and mentoring of Cardano Blockchain technology.

• Incorporate the population in the use of Cardano Blockchain technology in ventures.

• Offer greater inclusion and decrease the gaps of young people by sex, gender or ethnicity in Venezuela.

• Create a space for the development of networks for the generation of knowledge and collective learning with the community that promotes innovation within disruptive technologies.

• Promote the creation of Clusters with entrepreneurs that allow the generation of synergies between the different forms of disruptive technologies with the use of the Cardano platform.

• Greater growth of the Cardano ecosystem in Venezuela with the adoption and use of Cardano cryptocurrencies in the national economic system that allows greater competitiveness

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

The work team has a strong enthusiasm and commitment within the framework of Cardano's Blockchain technologies since its participation in the EMURGO Cardano 360 for Campus event held on October 27, 2022 with the express invitation, where we do academic life, which allowed us to expand our students and facilitators to work and promote Cardano in Venezuela.

Since then, events have been held and participated in that incorporate more information and training for the team, such as the participation of the proponents in the Workshop CIP-1694 whereweI work on the new governance for the ecosystem together with the invitation of the Latam Cardano Community developed and carried out. held in Caracas, Venezuela on May 25, which has allowed us to increase knowledge of the Cardano world and to be able to contribute to the final document that has been developed at the presentation in Edinburgh from our experiences.

 

Additionally, as teachers and students we are in constant learning and teaching that allows the project participants to have the most and best information and knowledge transfer that generates the spirit and commitment to the Cardano ecosystem and to be able to build their ventures using the Cardano Blockchain technology.

 

The experience in managing this type of project that we have been developing in various spaces at Uniagsfmi has given us the experience and knowledge to be able to carry them out.

 

Answer:

The metric that will indicate the success of the project is based on the KPIs indicated in the section for this purpose and that are associated with the objectives and goals set out as follows :

Milestone 1-

• Creation and consolidation of Academic Programme Cardano Blockchain Technology
• Creation of the virtual space on the website.
• Number of student registrations to participate in the training and tutoring program of the universities.
• Number of ventures registered and being monitored Milestone

Milestone 2- Education and Training of participant

• Number of facilitators hired and incorporated

• Number of students trained and trained in entrepreneurship with Cardano's blockchain technology.

• Number of female students trained and trained in entrepreneurship with Cardano's Blockchain technology

• Number of male students trained and trained in entrepreneurship with Cardano's Blockchain technology  Milestone

 • Number of mentors incorporated into the projects generated by the student entrepreneurs.

• Number of students with Blockchain Cardano technology-based ventures being launched • Number of ventures generated with Cardano blockchain technology

• Number of ventures approved to receive support in their consolidation within the incubator.

• Number of clusters of entrepreneurs created and approved

The goals set to meet the success indicators are the following: 

1- Agreement and work agreement with UNIAGSMI to support the legal framework

2- Incorporation of ten facilitators and ten mentors to be hired for the development of academic activities and tutoring of entrepreneurs' projects

3- Incorporation of fifty undergraduate and postgraduate students and entrepreneurs

The development and execution of this educational programme of Cardano Blockchain Technology will alllow to push projects has planned the vision of sharing through a technological platform for monitoring and control of the activities, objectives and goals during the execution of the project and that will be hosted on website of CIAPUNIAGSMI. so that any interested party can review and see the status and scope of it. Additionally, the following actions are proposed:

1- Documentation and monthly reports that give an account of the situation and progress of the project

2- Creation of social networks to keep the community and students informed of the activities and achievements

3- Specific face-to-face and virtual events to offer spaces for consultation and general information

4- Creation of a space for the technological platform that offers information and summary reports on the progress of the project

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Milestone 1- Creation and consolidation of Cardano Blockchain Technological Academic Programme

The academic programme will be established with the support of CIAPUNIGASFMI to allow its legal operation in Venezuela and internationally. In this way, time and conformation and consolidation processes are saved, as well as the academic certification of the training. The project will have a virtual modality for greater reach and access of the participants in the training and tutoring processes with face-to-face events in spaces that will be contracted for this purpose.

Milestone Outputs

 

•Design and implementation of the technological platform for training.

• Purchase of computer equipment for the project: Laptops and Desk computers and Printers also contract service of internet

• Translation into Spanish and design of Cardano's blockchain technologies curricula.

• Recruitment and training of facilitators and mentors in Cardano Blockchain

• Selection process of participants carried out to enter the program

Acceptance criteria

 

• Technological training platform implemented

• Curriculums elaborated in Spanish

• Facilitators and mentors included in the Cardano ecosystem and prepare to give classes

 

Evidence of milestone completion

• Architecture diagrams and documentation of the system to academic programme updated on GitHub
• The curricular documents of the diploma courses will be available on github

 

Milestone 2- Education and training of Cardano

The training in the areas of Cardano's blockchain technology that guides them towards a sustained growth of their technology-based ventures. This initial phase will be carried out using the technological platform that will be created and implemented for hybrid and online training as well as in person. It is important to indicate that the translations of the documents and videos that are necessary in the training of Cardano technology in Spanish will be carried out so that the information and knowledge transfer is more effective and reaches the participants. 

Milestone outputs

• Students and entrepreneurs selected to participate in the cuorses with gender equality.

• Start of training and blockchain technologies in Cardano for the participants

 

Acceptance criteria

• Process of selection of students and entrepreneurs trained and qualified to develop Caradano's technology-based .

 

Evidence of milestone completion

The  academic programme updated on GitHub with this information

•Fifty students and entrepreneurs trained and qualified with their with Cardano technology with gender equality.

• Transfer the knowledge of Cardamo's Blockchain technologies to new enthusiasts who can be recruited by the students of the project.

• Students included in the Cardano ecosystem and enthusiasts who will allow themselves to be catalysts for other students

Milestone 3- Mentorship

Facilitate the insertion of national mentoring capacities to the processes of competitive improvement of entrepreneurs and ventures in the target population for the formulation of entrepreneurship projects. For this objective, a team of mentors will be formed and created.

Milestone outputs

• Evaluation methodology of the entrepreneurial projects for their approval for the twenty mentors.

• List of business proposals for final evaluation

• Ten mentors trained to support the students participating in the project who managed to achieve the development of their proposals.

• Generation of consultancy and support for the development of entrepreneurship projects with the use of Cardano Blockchain technology.

• Creation of clusters with various enterprises that can be supported

Acceptance criteria

• Selection of Cardano Blockchain technology-based entrepreneurship projects.

• Feasible projects and with the capacity to be implemented, developed by the students with the advice of the assigned tutors.

Evidence of milestone completion

The  academic programme updated on GitHub with this information:

• Ffty projects with viability and feasibility of implementation of the students participating in the project and selected with gender equality.

In order to be able to have funds to be able to offer them to entrepreneurship projects that are more viable and add value for companies, the development of easier and faster processes is planned to offer them to viable entrepreneurship projects for their consolidation and support. through the incubator in CIAPUNIAGSFMI

In order to be able to have funds to be able to offer them to entrepreneurship projects that are more viable and add value for companies, the development of easier and faster processes is planned to offer them to viable entrepreneurship projects for their consolidation and support. through the incubator

Milestone outputs

• Call the entrepreneurship projects selected and approved to be part of Incubator programme of CIPAUNIAGSFMI .

• Event for the delivery and signing of the agreement for the delivery of joint accompaniment with the Incubator and a commitment to support its management.

• A process of accompaniment and monitoring of the student ventures will begin with the assigned mentors for a period of one month so that they can support them and monitor compliance with the business plans associated with Cardano's blockchain technology.

Acceptance criteria

• Accompaniment and follow-up process of entrepreneurship projects that are approved within the Incubator.

• A startup amount and incentive of one 400 ₳ will be offered to entrepreneurship projects as incentive

Results

Evidence of milestone completion

The  academic programme updated on GitHub with this information:

Start-up ventures with blockchain technology and offering their services and products.

• Incorporation of students with their ventures in the Cardano ecosystem

• Incorporating potential new students who are recruited by the incubator or referred by entrepreneurs in CIAPUNIAGSFMI

• Visibility and growth of the Cardano community in Venezuela

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Our project team is made up of people committed to the Cardano ecosystem since 2022. The team is as follows:

1- General Director of CIAPUNIAGSFMI. Mr. José Erasmo Colmenares,Their functions are:

a- Coordinate the administrative management of the project in the aspects of hiring human talent and services for the development of the project

b- Carry out the accounting and administrative management of the project

c- Monitoring and control with the elaboration of the pertinent reports that account for the management and achievements.

Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josé-erasmo-colmenares-salas-ab0b7919a

Telegram: https://t.me/erascol123

Twitter: erasmocol

Discord: Erasmocol

Email: ecconsultoresgerencialesccs@gmail.com /Email: uniagsfmi.venezuela@gmail.com

2- Academic Coordinator: Mr Wilmer Varon of the project. their functions are:

a- Coordinate academic activities in order to prepare the selecton and registration of participants

b- Monitoring and control of requests for consultations and questions

c- Preparation and promotion of information campaigns

d- Preparation of marketing process management reports

Contact

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilmer-leonardo-var%C3%B3n-63a29666

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Answer:

Milestone 1-Creation and consolidation of Cardano Blockchain Technological Academic Programme Incubator

Resources :

1. Design of the technological platform and website: 2.000 ₳
2. Purchase of computer equipment for the project: Laptops and Desk computers and printers and marketing . 10,000 ₳
3. Procurement of Services for the development of the technological training platform for 2.000 ₳ Hiring specialists in content translation from English to Spanish for ₳2,000
4. Hiring a specialist in writing and presenting curricular content and videos for ₳2,000 Milestone.

Total Amount: 18.000 ₳

Milestone 2- Education and training of Cardano

Resources :

1. Recruitment of 10 facilitators that we going to pay each 2.000 ₳ . Total amount of 20,000 ₳
2. Rent place to offer the courses 1,500₳

Total Amount: 21.500 ₳

Milestone 3-Mentorship of Entrepreneurial Students

Resources :

1. Recruitment of 10 mentors that we going to pay each 2.000 ₳ . Total amount of 20.000 ₳.
2. Incentive to support the 50 students and entrepreneurs with an amount of 400 ₳s each for a total of 20.000 ₳. 
3. Rent place to offer the courses 1,500₳

Total Amount: 41.500 ₳

Administrative management :

Administrative support activities of the team and accreditation and certification are 1,000 ₳ for six months

Total Amount of 19,000 ₳ 

The total financial resources necessary for the development of the project is 100,000 ₳

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The development of the proposal has a great impact for the generation of the expected results based on the investment and the benefit that this may offer to the beneficiaries of the project. The experience that has been had in the context of developing this type of project is of great importance since it allows its elaboration with costs that are the most real possible for its execution. In the context of the Venezuelan economy, the requested investment can cover the expenses and purchases required for the project, they are of great importance for the development of the project and our economy is currently dollarized and the depreciation of the monetary sign allows us to be able to acquire goods and services that other countries with more stable economies are more expensive than Venezuela. In the cost benefit that will be obtained from milestone 1, it will allow consolidating the process of creating the material and acquiring the necessary equipment for the translation and writing of the training content, as well as being able to have the methodological and academic tools that allow the creation of curricula. suitable for training students. For example,the investment requested for milestones 2 and 3 to hiring the services of facilitators and mentors are focused on being able to have a highlevel staff that allows them to offer relevant training and that add value to student entrepreneurs that leads to the generation of successful ventures. The investment of the Cardano ecosystem in our project will allow it to be consolidated in our country, achieving greater adoption of the use of Cardano in the field of ventures and by the productive sector as a conduit for the acquisition of goods and services. international. In this sense, the requested investment of a total of is well justified because they are the core of the success of the project. We hope that our proposal can be funded in order to take advantage of a great opportunity to implement and consolidate the Cardano ecosystem in Venezuela.