Learn and Earn: Developer Training

Project Overview
The Cardano Developer Learn to Earn Program is an initiative which rewards developers, in ADA, for learning Cardano development skills, and then proving their knowledge through tests and practical exercises. The program is proposed by the Blockchain Education Network (BEN).
Earn and Learn programs on Coinbaise and Coinmarketcap have shown potential as a fun and educational way to onboard new users into crypto. We believe Earn and Learn programs are just beginning in the crypto space and have great potential for attracting and upskilling new developers into Cardano.
We have already started a pilot Ethereum Earn and Learn Program with promising initial results. In this program reward xDAI to blockchain newcomers from Venezuela for completing lessons. To find more about the Ethereum pilot program, visit the GitHub (https://github.com/BlockDevsUnited/learn-and-earn). And our Telegram group (https://t.me/learn_and_earn_crypto). Through this program we have successfully onboarded over a doezen Venezuelans into Ethereum and xDai chain, starting them on a journey to become blockchain developers!
Over 50% of the funding will go straight to learners!
The Cardano Developer Earn to Learn Program will write structured lessons on Cardano Development and create evaluation criteria for each lesson. Evaluation will require participants to display their knowledge by deploying a practical application or hands on knowledge of the code, as well as answering text based questions. Developers can be verified through BrightID or another identity app. Once developers have completed the lesson, taken the test and passed, they will be eligible to receive an ADA reward.
Each lesson includes theory, practical activities (such as forking and modifying github repos with Cardano tooling), and a final test.
Lessons include:
- Cardano 101
- Running Cardano Nodes
- Deploying smart contracts on the KEVM
- Creating Native Cardano tokens
- Building Plutus smart contracts
- and more
The Cardano Developer Earn to Learn Program would motivate developers to work through documents and code by systematically rewarding them for every step of the learning process they complete. The rewards would help create a positive developer experience and encourage the developer to build working dApps on Cardano and contribute to the ecosystem.
Rewards may be $3-10 per lesson
Reach and Audience
The Cardano Developer Earn to Learn Program will be promoted through BEN's network to over 100 universities to draw developers to Cardano from outside the ecosystem, using the existing group in Venezuela with the intention to grow the participant base in Latin America.
Another area of focus, should this grant be approved, is BEN's network of university clubs and members in West Africa, specifically in Ghana and Nigeria where there are currently 5 active BEN chapters. Cardano is already very popular with students in our BEN Africa chapter and this grant will help us provide them with the resources and tools they need to start building and contributing to the network. The BEN Africa and BEN LatAm chapters will be the focus of this grant, however any students from across BEN's 100+ universities and clubs will be able to and encouraged to participate in the program.
Benefits for Participants
- Developers both learn and earn
- Soften the learning curve for learning Cardano tooling
- Developers get ADA that they can use for further development on Cardano
- Developers get to talk and meet each other
Benefits for Cardano
- Increase the number of developers building on Cardano
- Systematically increase the number of repos using Cardano tooling
- Foster community building and open technical conversations
- Onboard developers from outside Cardano
- Increase the number of developer ADA holders which increases developer adoption
Definition of Success
1 month
3 full Cardano Developer lessons created with testing criteria
75+ developers completed lessons and earned ADA
Receive positive feedback from learners
3 months
10 full Cardano Developer lessons created with testing criteria
300+ developers completed lessons and earned ADA
We see examples of learners start to joinCardano projects or build their own
6 months
20 full Cardano Developer lessons created with testing criteria
1000+ developers completed lessons and earned ADA
Raised more funding to reward learners and expand to the next stage of the program
We see examples of Cardano projects hiring learners from the program
1 year
Comprehensive Cardano lesson base, where devs can be incentivized to learn Cardano development, every step of the way.
3000+ developers have completed lessons, and growing
Budget
Learner rewards, in ADA: 15000 USD
Lesson development and testing methods: 8000 USD
Admin Costs for Testers: 3500 USD
Community Outreach: 1000 USD
Total: 27500 USD