[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Mastering Blockchain-Cardano University Workshop Series 2026

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

40000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

4

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Sri Lanka has strong technical talent, but university students lack exposure to blockchain technology & Cardano. Providing structured education can transform this potential into real ecosystem growth.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://www.coinceylon.com/education/
,
• https://youtu.be/fUbHALXD8B4?si=-DuRA_aYrS670nmB
,
• https://youtu.be/khJ_nJM6MV4?si=7pGLSR0Rk5qmmcJm
,
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPxsWczot_M
,
• https://fct.kln.ac.lk/news/blockchain-technology

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.

All workshop highlight videos willbe published on the CoinCeylon GitHub Repo

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Education

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano?

Who We’re Targeting

We are targeting 300+ university students across multiple leading Sri Lankan universities, primarily those studying:

• Computer Science, Software Engineering, ICT
• Data Science, AI, and Engineering fields

These students represent the country’s largest pool of future developers and remain largely unexposed to Cardano.

How We Will Reach Them

We will activate students through:

• Faculty partnerships and department coordinators
• Computer Science societies, IEEE branches, tech clubs
• On-campus promotions (flyers, digital screens, announcements)
• Social media advertising outreach
• Coin Ceylon’s digital channels (Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn)

Why This Matters for Cardano

Sri Lanka has 40,000+ ICT undergraduates, yet very few receive structured education on blockchain technology and cardano.

This program:

• Onboards hundreds of new users to Cardano tools
• Creates a sustained academic pipeline into cardano ecosystem, catalyst, and governance
• Expands Cardano’s presence in mainstream education
• Trains the next generation of Cardano developers and contributors

By embedding Cardano inside universities, we build long-term ecosystem adoption and decentralization.

Provide a list of key activities of your project:

1. University Outreach & Student Engagement

• Engagement with multiple universities, CS societies, IEEE branches, and tech clubs.
• On-campus promotions, faculty-led announcements, and digital signups.

2. Delivery of 10 In-Person Workshops

Covering:

• Blockchain fundamentals
• UTXO/eUTXO
• Aiken smart contracts
• Mesh SDK
• Hydra scaling
• Blockfrost APIs
• Governance (CIP-1694)
• Career pathways

3. Hands-On Demonstrations

• NFT minting (CLI)
• Blockfrost data queries
• Node interactions
• Smart contract deployments (instructor-led)
• Hydra demonstration

4. Student Learning Support

• Educational handouts and materials
• Q&A and discussion during sessions
• Guidance on learning pathways

5. Certification & Recognition

• Physical certificates co-signed by university faculty and Coin Ceylon
• Recognized professional qualification for student portfolios

6. Media & Documentation

• Photos, videos, and workshop summaries
• Public posting of educational content on Coin Ceylon channels

What are your success metrics?

1. Student Participation & Training

• 300+ students trained across all universities
• 70%+ attendance retention across the workshop series

Rationale: High and consistent participation indicates strong demand for Cardano education and effective delivery quality.

2. University Engagement

• Multiple universities onboarded, including CS societies and IEEE branches

Rationale: Expands Cardano’s academic footprint and strengthens institutional adoption pathways.

3. Hands-On Onboarding Metrics

• 200+ new wallets created (testnet)
• Students interact with Blockfrost, Hydra demos, Aiken contracts
• Rationale: Concrete indicators of early developer onboarding and real ecosystem engagement.

4. Learning Outcomes

• Pre/post knowledge improvements measured via quick surveys
• Students demonstrate understanding of:
• UTXO & eUTXO models
• Smart contract logic
• dApp architecture
• Governance mechanisms

Rationale: Shows actual skill progression beyond attendance numbers.

5. Certifications

• 300+ physical certificates issued

Rationale: Recognized proof of learning increases student motivation and strengthens the Cardano educational pipeline.

6. Media & Awareness

• 5,000+ social impressions
• National-level coverage via social and traditionall media

Rationale: Expands Cardano visibility into mainstream academic and youth audiences.

Long-Term Ecosystem Pipeline

Students guided toward advanced pathways such as internships, catalyst, or research

Rationale: Ensures the workshops translate into real ecosystem contribution, not just classroom learning.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

This proposal delivers a national-level educational initiative:

A structured 10-part, in-person workshop series conducted across multiple Sri Lankan universities, targeting over 300+ students.

It is the 2nd edition of the highly successful 2025 program conducted with the University of Kelaniya (UOK Centre for Data Science & AI) & University of Ruhuna which trained 250+ students and generated high demand for continuation.

What the 2026 Edition Delivers

A complete, progressive education pathway covering:

1. Blockchain Foundations

• Distributed systems, consensus, PoW vs PoS, Cardano structure (CSL/CCL), real-world use cases.

2. Cardano Technical Fundamentals

• UTXO & eUTXO models, keys, wallets, secure asset management.

3. Building on Cardano (Instructor-Led Demos)

• NFT minting (CLI)
• IPFS metadata
• Blockfrost API exploration
• Cardano node interactions

4. Smart Contracts with Aiken

• Understanding validators, contract logic, deployment steps.

5. Scaling with Hydra

• Conceptual overview and live demonstration of isomorphic state channels.

6. dApp Development Concepts

• Mesh SDK, wallet integration, frontend→blockchain flows.

7. Governance with CIP-1694

• DReps, Governance Actions, Treasury flow, simulation exercise.

8. Careers & Industry Pathways

• Professional advice, opportunities within Cardano, internship guidance.

9. Academic Certifications

• Each student receives a physical professional certificate, co-signed by:
• An authorized university lecturer
• Authorised leadership team member of CoinCeylon

The program focuses on exposure, learning, and hands-on demonstrations.

Why This Matters

• Sri Lanka has over 40,000+ ICT undergraduates, yet fewer than 1% receive structured blockchain education especially Cardano-specific.
• This workshop series fills that gap, building the next generation of developers, researchers, governance contributors, and ecosystem participants.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Direct Ecosystem Impact

• 300+ trained students
• Dozens of new wallets created
• Hundreds of future potential developers exposed to Cardano tooling
• Students introduced to Cardano Academy certification pathways
• Strengthened relationships with two major universities
• Growth of Cardano’s presence in mainstream education
• Developer adoption pipeline feeding into, ecosystem projects, Catalyst, internships

Adoption Pathway

• Students learn about wallets → create testnet wallets
• Observe on-chain transactions live
• Learn to read chain data via blockchain explorers/ Blockfrost
• Understand smart contract logic in Aiken and MeshSDK
• Understand Hydra’s scalability benefits
• Understand full flow of dApp architecture

Community Value

This proposal produces long-term recurring educational value by establishing a strong academic foothold for Cardano in Sri Lanka, a fast-growing blockchain market.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & 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?

Capabilities

Coin Ceylon is Sri Lanka’s pioneer blockchain innovation company (est. 2021), specialising in Cardano outreach, education, product development, and community growth.

Our track record:

• Delivered UniHack 2025, Sri Lanka’s first Cardano exclusive inter-university blockchain hackathon. 225+ developers across 18 Universities took part in the Hackathon
• Operates the CoinCeylon X Intersect Sri Lanka Community Hub, 1st in South Asia , 2nd largest in the world.
• 500+ active local community members
• Hosted multiple governance training sessions, Education workshops
• Held repeated university programs to educate about building on Cardano
• Strong national media access, PR and production capabilities
• Developed multiple products & services on Cardano
• Hosting Monthly Town Halls for the region
• Multiple in-person community meet-up events
• Showcased Products built on Cradno at local/ International Blockchain & Technology events
• Team behind the First Stake pool in Sri Lanka, 1st multi-purpose cnft collection, 1st blockchain forum in Sri Lanka

Our Education Track Record

https://www.coinceylon.com/education/

--

Team Experience

Coin Ceylon Execution Team

Experienced in:

Event operations

Technical workshops

Media & video production

University relations

Workshop management

Feasibility

We have:

• University partnerships already established
• Proven workshop content
• Certified instructors
• Media capacity for documentation
• Prior delivery of the exact same format (2025 edition)
• Low-risk, high-impact.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Milestone 1 — Preparation & University Scheduling

Milestone Outputs

• Finalized curriculum (all 4 workshop modules)
• Finalized instructor materials & demos (Aiken, Blockfrost, Hydra)
• Confirmations from each participating university
• Scheduling of dates, venues & faculty coordinators
• Registration portal + promotional materials launched

Acceptance Criteria

• Multiple universities formally onboarded for the workshop series to be conducted
• complete workshop calendar publicly published for reference
• 100+ early student registrations from theniversities to take part

Evidence of Completion

• Published workshop calendar (web link)
• Registration platform link
• Copies of faculty announcement messages
• Promotional assets (posters, announcements)
• Social campaign analytics

Delivery Month

1

Cost

8000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Milestone 2 — Full Delivery of Workshop Series at University #1

Milestone Outputs

Workshops delivered:

Delivery of all 4 workshops at University #1

• ​Workshop 1: Principles of Blockchain Technology and the Cardano Ecosystem
• ​Workshop 2: Blockchain Technical Fundamentals - UTXO Model and Smart Contracts
• ​Workshop 3: Building Applications on Blockchain
• Workshop 4: Governance and Building Practical Blockchain Applications

Additional outputs:

• Attendance tracking
• Photo/video documentation
• Published workshop summaries

Acceptance Criteria

• Workshops 1–4 delivered at each university - each workshop to be held for 3hours
• 60%+ attendance per session at the university workshops
• Summaries, highlight videos, photos and other details published online

Evidence of Completion

• Attendance guest lists
• Photos/videos highlofghts the workshop sessions
• Workshop dedicated pages (website URLs)

Delivery Month

2

Cost

12000

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Milestone 3 — Full Delivery of Workshop Series at University #2

Milestone Outputs

Delivery of all 4 workshops at University #2:

• Workshop 1: Principles of Blockchain Technology and the Cardano Ecosystem
• ​Workshop 2: Blockchain Technical Fundamentals - UTXO Model and Smart Contracts
• ​Workshop 3: Building Applications on Blockchain
• Workshop 4: Governance and Building Practical Blockchain Applications

Additional:

Media/recap content

Student Q&A and support sessions

Acceptance Criteria

• Workshops 1–4 delivered at each university - each workshop to be held for 3hours
• 60%+ attendance per session at the university workshops
• Summaries, highlight videos, photos and other details published online

Evidence of Completion

• Attendance guest lists
• Photos/videos highlofghts the workshop sessions
• Workshop dedicated pages (website URLs)

Delivery Month

3

Cost

12000

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

Milestone 4 — Certification Ceremony, Media Release & Final Reporting

Milestone Outputs

• 300+ physical certificates printed & awarded
• Final recap highlight videos of the workshop series
• Press release & social media promotional announcements
• Consolidated project report to be submitted

Acceptance Criteria

300+ certifications awarded to the participanting students of the workshops

Final public recap videos of the workshops published

Project closeout report submitted through Catalyst with the impact

Evidence of Completion

Photos of certificate ceremony

Printed certificate samples

Final recap videos

Final PDF report

Delivery Month

4

Cost

8000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Workshop Delivery — 12,000 ADA

• Instructor time, content preparation, live demos, and updated 2026 training materials.
• Ensures high-quality sessions on Aiken, Hydra, Blockfrost, wallets & governance.

University Logistics — 5,500 ADA

• Venue coordination, student registration handling, equipment support, campus liaison costs.
• Covers operational needs across multiple universities with 10 in-person workshops, each spanning 3hours

Certificates & Printing — 2,000 ADA

• High-quality physical certificates, co-signed by university faculty & Coin Ceylon leadership.
• Professional printing, design, stamping, and student record verification.

Media Production (Photo / Video / Editing) — 6,500 ADA

• Full workshop media coverage, recap videos, photography, editing, and documentation.
• Provides public transparency, marketing assets, and long-term educational content.

Student Materials, Merchandise & Handouts — 4,500 ADA

• Workbooks, reference sheets, branded materials, student kits, and giveaways.
• Enhances learning experience and strengthens Cardano campus presence.

Travel & On-Site Operations — 4,000 ADA

• Transport for instructors, equipment, media team, and workshop coordinators.
• Ensures smooth execution across two geographically separate universities.

Admin, Coordination & Project Management — 5,500 ADA

• Project management, scheduling, reporting, financial tracking, university relations.

Guarantees timely delivery, compliance with Catalyst requirements, and smooth workflow.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

This proposal delivers:

• 300+ students trained
• 10 high-value in-person workshops
• Strong university partnerships
• National-scale educational exposure
• Physical certificates with academic legitimacy
• Publicly released content

Cost per student trained = ~133 ADA

Cost per 2-hour workshop = 4,000 ADA, extremely low for university-level instruction.

This is one of the highest-return educational investments Catalyst can make in the region.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that the proposal is a non-technical initiative, with ≤20% of the budget for tech support.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal provides verifiable evidence (portfolio, links, reports) of the team's ability to deliver the project.

Yes

I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes clear objectives with both Output Metrics (what proposal did) and Adoption-Focused Metrics (what effect proposal had).

Yes

I confirm that the proposal clearly explains the user journey and provides a credible plan for how the project will equip and motivate users for future on-chain activity.

Yes

I confirm that the initiative clearly demonstrates how it will grow the Cardano ecosystem or onboard users.

Yes

I confirm that the project plan and timeline (≤ 12 months) are realistic and well-defined.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal commits to public outputs and justifies any exceptions.

Yes

I confirm that the budget adheres to all policies: it is for future work, follows the merchandise rule, and excludes establishing local treasuries, incentives/giveaways, re-grants.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes