Cardano in Pop-Up Cities: Blockchain Solutions for Biotech and Web3 Innovation

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Rivero Martín, PhD

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

Individual

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

8

[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)

Showcase Cardano at pop-up city events, presenting UTXO model, Marlowe, Aiken smart contracts, decentralized governance, and scalable finance to attract builders and developers

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

No

[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.”

No dependencies

[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

The project outputs will be fully open-source, aligning with Cardano’s commitment to transparency and community-driven development. All code, smart contracts (built with Marlowe, Aiken, and Plutus), and documentation will be published on GitHub under an MIT license, ensuring accessibility and reuse by developers globally.

[METADATA] Horizons

Community Outreach

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Our solution is to actively engage in pop-up city events worldwide, showcasing Cardano’s blockchain technology to developers and innovators. But... What is a Pop-Up City?

A pop-up city is a temporary urban space created with a specific purpose and designed to exist for a limited time. These cities often become hubs for experimentation, bringing together communities to foster innovation, collaboration, and new ideas. They offer unique opportunities for co-working, networking, and problem-solving in an immersive, goal-oriented environment.

Currently, Zelar City is running in Berlin from October 5 to November 17, 2024. With a focus on biotechnology and longevity, this initiative provides an environment for innovators, scientists, and enthusiasts to collaborate, exchange ideas, and explore advancements in health technologies and aging research.

We perceive the problem as a lack of awareness and integration of Cardano’s solutions within pop-up cities. These dynamic environments often attract developers, entrepreneurs, and technologists, but they lack exposure to Cardano’s secure and scalable infrastructure. As a result, these cities miss opportunities to implement advanced decentralized solutions like governance models, digital identity, and financial tools that could significantly enhance their growth and impact.

Our goal is to bridge this gap by showcasing Cardano’s technology at these events, providing hands-on experiences and practical solutions to builders and developers. This will not only increase awareness but also create tangible use cases that demonstrate the value of Cardano in real-world, rapidly evolving ecosystems. We’ll present the benefits of Cardano’s UTXO model, Marlowe and Aiken smart contracts, decentralized governance, and scalable finance solutions. Through hands-on workshops and demos we'll demonstrate how Cardano can drive biotech and Web3 innovation within these temporary city environments.

Vitalia Forever 2025: The Future of Longevity and Innovation  

One of the pop-up city options we are considering for presenting Cardano is Vitalia Forever 2025. This project aims to accelerate biotech innovations in longevity by offering a hub where startups, scientists, and innovators can co-live and co-work in Roatán, within the Prospera ZEDE jurisdiction, known for its crypto-friendly policies and experimental governance. 

What to Expect  

• Community-Driven Growth: Up to 1,000 participants will explore fields like medical tourism, fast-tracked clinical trials, and decentralized governance.

Core Narratives  

1. Longevity Biotech: Push boundaries with life-extending therapies.  
2. Crypto Cities: Establish blockchain-powered governance and public services.  
3. Human Enhancement: Develop tools like AI health solutions, neurotech, and regenerative medicine.  

Martin Rivero’s Contribution

At Aleph pop-up city in Buenos Aires (link), Argentina, in September 2024, Martin Rivero participated in the DeSci Days, presenting projects utilizing Cardano and its Catalyst fund. During the event, Martin connected with the founders of Vitalia, laying the groundwork for potential future collaborations. His participation highlights the growing role of Cardano in the decentralized science ecosystem and its alignment with innovation hubs like Vitalia.

Vitalia embraces an experimental, permissionless philosophy, shifting the paradigm from "funding to progress" to "progress to funding." This makes it an ideal stage for Cardano’s DeSci initiatives, offering a collaborative, future-oriented environmentfocused on *radical life extension and personal freedom

Reasons

We are approaching the problem through direct engagement with pop-up cities because these environments are perfect for showcasing Cardano’s capabilities in real-world. Pop-up cities attract forward-thinking developers, biotech innovators, and web3 enthusiasts, creating an ideal audience for demonstrating Cardano’s technology in action.

By hosting workshops and live demonstrations, we provide hands-on experiences that are far more impactful than theoretical presentations. This approach allows developers to directly interact with Cardano’s tools (e.g., Marlowe, Aiken). Additionally, engaging with these events helps us build relationships within emerging tech communities, establishing Cardano as a key player and attracting new talent to the ecosystem.

Our strategy ensures that our presence is not just informative but transformative—creating immediate, practical value and opportunities for adoption.

Engagement:

Developers and Builders:

We will target developers interested in blockchain technology, offering them hands-on workshops, hackathons, and resources to build on Cardano using Marlowe, Aiken, and Plutus.

  

Biotech Innovators and Researchers:

Engaging biotech professionals to demonstrate how Cardano’s blockchain can be used for secure data sharing, decentralized governance, and financial solutions within their projects.

Entrepreneurs and Startups:

We’ll connect with founders and startups at pop-up events, showcasing Cardano’s scalable solutions for business models and decentralized applications, particularly in the biotech and Web3 sectors.

Pop-Up City Organizers and Local Communities:

Collaborating with event organizers and local leaders to integrate Cardano’s solutions within these cities, enabling them to leverage blockchain for governance, finance, and identity systems.

We will demonstrate and prove our impact through:

Event Participation Metrics:

Track the number of pop-up city events attended, workshops conducted, measuring participation levels and developer engagement.

Community Feedback and Testimonials:

Collect feedback from event participants and developers to gauge the effectiveness of our presentations and identify success stories where Cardano was successfully implemented.

Open-Source Contributions:

Monitor the activity and contributions to our open-source repositories, measuring the growth and collaboration within the Cardano developer community.

Our solution is unique because it directly targets pop-up cities—dynamic, temporary environments that are becoming epicenters for biotech and Web3 innovation. We don’t just provide theoretical knowledge; we create hands-on, immersive experiences.

Who Will Benefit

Developers and Builders, Biotech Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Startups

Why This Is Important to Cardano

This initiative is vital for Cardano’s ecosystem as it expands Cardano’s presence in cutting-edge environments where innovation and technology adoption are already thriving.

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

Our project will drive Cardano adoption and growth by showcasing its blockchain solutions at pop-up city events in biotech and Web3. By engaging developers and innovators through hands-on workshops, we’ll expand the Cardano community, fostering new talent and building real-world use cases. All materials and DApps will be open-source, encouraging collaboration and continuous development. This initiative positions Cardano as a leader in innovation, attracting partners and projects, and ultimately boosting visibility, credibility, and adoption within the ecosystem.

Measuring Impact

We’ll measure success through event participation numbers and feedback surveys.

Sharing Outputs and Opportunities

All materials and codes will be open-source, shared on GitHub, and promoted through our website and social media.

[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?

Our team combines scientific and blockchain expertise, making us highly qualified to execute this project successfully.

Martin Rivero holds a PhD in Medical Sciences and a Bachelor’s in Biotechnology, with over 10 years of research experience. He has led preclinical trials, published scientific papers, and secured international grants, demonstrating his ability to manage complex projects. As COO of a biotech company, Martin has proven leadership in managing interdisciplinary teams efficiently. In the blockchain space, he is a Cardano Blockchain Certified Associate and has co-led a successful Project Catalyst (Fund 11) proposal. Martin also serves as a SingularityNET LATAM ambassador and DeSci LATAM member, promoting innovation at the intersection of AI and decentralized science.

Damián Hryb, a respected Cardano engineer and founder of CardanoTrees, has extensive experience in Cardano projects. He completed the smart contract programming course from IOHK, organized by ADALAB -UTN.

Together, we won second place in the Cardano LATAM Builders Hackathon, showcasing our technical competence with a project similar to our Fund 13 proposal. Our combined expertise in blockchain, scientific research, and project management ensures we can deliver this project with excellence. Supported by experts in data analysis, finance, and design, our team is equipped to guarantee trust, accountability, and innovation throughout the project lifecycle.

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

Milestone 1: Engagement and Event Planning

A: Milestone Outputs  

• Identify and establish partnerships with at least 2 major pop-up city events focused on biotech and Web3.  
• Develop theoretical presentation and workshop materials, including presentations, code samples, and hands-on labs specific to Cardano's UTXO model, Marlowe, and Aiken smart contracts.  
• Create a dedicated website and social media profiles (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn) for the initiative, “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities,” to showcase event details, share educational content, and engage the community.

B: Acceptance Criteria  

• Confirmed participation in at least 2 pop-up city events with signed agreements from event organizers.  
• Completed development and approval of all educational materials, with feedback from the Cardano community and experts.  
• Launch of a fully functional website and active social media profiles with regular updates and content aligned with the events and Cardano’s mission.

C: Evidence of Milestone Completion  

Links to:  

• Public announcement and event listings on both our website and the event organizers' platforms.  
• Repository with finalized educational materials available on GitHub, with documentation and feedback incorporated.  
• Active website live, along with social media profiles showcasing event details, educational resources, and community engagement metrics (e.g., followers, interactions).

Milestone 2: First Event Execution and Engagement

A: Milestone Outputs  

• Successfully host and execute presentations and workshops at the first pop-up city event.  
• Conduct live demos showcasing Cardano’s technology, including Marlowe and Aiken smart contracts, with real-world applications tailored to biotech and Web3 use cases.  
• Distribute educational resources and onboarding tools to attendees, including Cardano wallets, developer toolkits, and links to the “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities” website and social media for continued learning and engagement.

B: Acceptance Criteria  

• Verified participation through event registration and attendance logs.  
• Participant feedback collected.  
• Successful distribution of developer toolkits and follow-up resources to all attendees.

C: Evidence of Milestone Completion  

• Attendance logs and participant feedback surveys collected and documented.  
• Recorded videos of presentations, workshops, and demos shared publicly through the “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities” website and social media channels.  
• GitHub repository showcasing the demo code.

Milestone 3: Optimized Second Event Execution and Engagement

A: Milestone Outputs  

• Develop and publish a detailed document analyzing feedback from the first event, outlining the improvements made, and summarizing suggestions incorporated into the material for the second event.
• Host and execute an improved presentation and workshop at the second pop-up city event, incorporating feedback and insights gathered from the first event.  
• Conduct enhanced live demos showcasing Cardano’s technology (Marlowe and Aiken smart contracts), with updates based on real-world biotech and Web3 applications learned from the first event.  
• Distribute refined educational resources, onboarding tools, and updated developer toolkits, alongside links to the “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities” website and social media for continuous engagement and support.  

B: Acceptance Criteria  

• Completed analysis document published on the “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities” website and shared with the Cardano community, summarizing feedback and showcasing the specific improvements implemented.
• Verified participation through event registration and updated attendance logs.  
• Participant feedback.  
• Successful distribution of the updated developer toolkits and follow-up resources to all attendees.  

C: Evidence of Milestone Completion  

Links to:

• Published analysis document available on the website, detailing feedback, improvements made, and lessons learned, with references to specific adjustments in the presentation and materials used during the second event.
• Attendance logs and participant feedback surveys collected
• Recorded videos of optimized presentations.  
• Updated GitHub repository with improved demo code and documentation.  

Title: Final Summary and Reporting  

A: Outputs:  

- Final document summarizing the entire process, from smart contract development to its implementation and adaptation for clinical trials.  

- Creation of a summary video showcasing the development process, implementation, and results achieved with HealthChain, highlighting its impact on clinical trial management.

B: Acceptance Criteria:  

- Final document delivered to the Catalyst community with a complete summary of the project and its outcomes.  

- Published summary video, accessible to the community, showcasing the achievements during the 7-month project execution.

C: Evidence of Completion:  

- Link to the final document on the Catalyst platform.  

- Summary video available to the Catalyst community.

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

Team Overview

Our team is composed of skilled professionals with expertise in project management, technical development, and blockchain technology. Their roles are specifically adapted to ensure the successful development of educational materials and presentations for pop-up city events.

Martín Rivero, PhD - Project Manager 

Martín is responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and execution of the project, ensuring that all milestones are met effectively. His specific responsibilities include:

• Organizing and coordinating partnerships with pop-up city events and managing event logistics.
• Leading the development of educational materials, including theoretical presentations and hands-on workshop content.
• Overseeing the budget and resource allocation to ensure the successful delivery of presentations and workshops.
• Managing feedback collection and analyzing data from event participants to optimize future presentations.

Damian Hryb, Eng. - Technical Lead  

Damian is the technical backbone of the project, focusing on the development and adaptation of Cardano’s technical content for the events. His specific responsibilities include:

• Developing technical documentation and educational resources on Cardano’s UTXO model, Marlowe, and Aiken smart contracts.
• Creating demo applications and interactive tools tailored for the workshops, showcasing Cardano’s technology in action.
• Leading the technical setup and execution of live demos during the events, ensuring they align with biotech and Web3 use cases.
• Adapting and updating the educational materials based on feedback from the first event to enhance the content for subsequent workshops.

Positions to be Filled:

• Web Designer: This role will focus on creating and maintaining the “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities” website, ensuring it is user-friendly and effectively communicates our project goals and events.
• Content Manager for Social Media: This person will manage our social media profiles, engage with the community, and promote our events, workshops, and resources to maximize reach and impact.

This team structure ensures a focused approach to delivering high-quality presentations and workshops, showcasing Cardano’s capabilities effectively within pop-up cities.

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

Budget & Cost Breakdown

The budget is divided into categories such as event participation, development, marketing, and team resources.

Event Participation

Travel and Accommodation: $7,000  

(Covers travel and lodging expenses for two team members attending and hosting the events, including flights and accommodations)

Subtotal1= $7,000

Development of Educational Materials and Demos

Development of Presentation and Workshop Content: $2,000  

 (Includes the creation of theoretical materials, code samples, and hands-on labs tailored for Cardano’s UTXO model, Marlowe, and Aiken)

Website and GitHub Repository Setup and Maintenance: $2,500  

 (Includes the cost of setting up the “Cardano in Pop-Up Cities” website and maintaining the open-source GitHub repositories)

Subtotal2= $4,500

Marketing and Community Engagement

Website Development and Social Media Management: $2,000  

 (Covers the development of the website and ongoing management of social media profiles for engagement)

Subtotal3= $2,000

Team Costs and Project Management

Project Manager: $2,000  

 (Manages the coordination of events and team activities throughout the project lifecycle)

Technical Lead: $2,000  

 (Responsible for developing demo applications, maintaining open-source repositories, and supporting developers at events)

Content Creator/Educator: $1,500  

 (Develops the educational materials and presentations)

Subtotal4= $5,500

Total Estimated Budget: $19,000 = 55767 ADA

The rate is 1 ADA = $0.3407 USD as of 10/10/2024, according to CoinmarketCap

This budget ensures all key components of the project are adequately resourced, from event participation and content development to marketing and project management, with a focus on maximizing impact and community engagement.

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

55767 ADA over 8 months is less than 7,000 ADA per month—an investment that will showcase Cardano’s blockchain capabilities in pop-up cities events. This project will develop educational materials, interactive demos using Aiken smart contracts, and DApps tailored to demonstrate Cardano’s real-world applications.

By engaging developers, biotech startups, and city organizers, we’ll demonstrate the efficiency, security, and scalability that Cardano offers, encouraging adoption. All materials and applications will be released as open-source, supported by a detailed report on outcomes and community feedback.

With our skilled team and a clear roadmap, this project promises long-term benefits, expanding Cardano’s ecosystem, user base, and utility in biotech and Web3. It’s a strategic investment to increase adoption, visibility, and trust within these dynamic, high-growth environments."