NEAR Certified Researcher Course Syllabus

Join the NRC DAO as a researcher.

Internal Aspects of the Program

Objectives and Metrics

1. Supporting Researchers in the NEAR Ecosystem: The primary objective is to cultivate an active, interdisciplinary research community focused on the NEAR Protocol and its associated technologies. This community will serve as a hub for scholarly exchange, fostering innovation and contributing to the broader Web3 ecosystem.

2. Efficient Research Flows for Data-Backed Decision-Making: The program aims to optimize the research pipeline by facilitating access to high-quality, peer-reviewed research. This will enable NEAR Protocol-based projects to make informed, data-backed decisions. The focus will be on creating efficient workflows for research proposal submission, peer review, and dissemination, thereby reducing the time from research conception to implementation.

Core Metric:

• The program's success will be gauged by the number of researchers funded and the total amount of funding allocated, with a focus on the impact and quality of the research produced.

Additional Metrics:

• Number of citations for each research paper.
• Number of research papers transitioned to real-world applications.

Logistics

• Platform: The course will be hosted on NEAR Hub, with additional support from TG and BOS platforms.
• Duration: The course will run from late February to early May.

Staffing

• Lead Instructor: Chloe
• Guest Lecturers: Research professionals
• Course Support:
  • Hannah
  • XVII
  • Earnest Etim
  • Sherwal

Staff Member	Role	Responsibilities
Chloe	Lead Instructor	Curriculum design, Lecturing, Mentoring

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External Aspects of the Program

Target Audience

• Students: Those attending post-secondary institutions.
• Interested Parties: Self-taught individuals, graduates, etc.

Pre-requisites

• Access to strong enough Wi-Fi to attend video calls and enter NEAR Hub.
• Time availability to attend all calls.
• Recommended background in computer science or a related technical field.

Recommended Tech Stack:

• Basic understanding of blockchain technology.
• Familiarity with programming languages such as Python or Rust.

Incentives

• Learning: Weekly lectures and quizzes.
• Earning: Various DAOs offer financial incentives.
• Engagement: Dings and Kudos for community engagement.

Requirements

• Attendance: Participants should attend all lectures, with a maximum of 4 lectures that can be missed.

Peer Review Process:

• Participants will review at least one other research project.

Assessment and Certification

• Assessment Method: The course is pass/fail. Participants are required to actively participate and submit a valid research project by the final project submission deadline.
• Influence of Kudos and Dings: While Kudos and Dings are generally for community engagement, accumulating too many Dings for negative reputation could influence the final assessment.
• Weekly Quizzes: Conducted on Easy Poll.
• Certification: Issued as a community NFT minted to the participant's account from the NRC DAO.

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Next Steps

Course Registration

• DAO Membership: NEAR account holders can join the DAO in the "researcher" group.
• NFTs: Participants claim a shard.dog NFT as part of the registration process.
  • those with "researcher" role AND have the NFT will be registered for the course (to be seen/displayed on BOS)

Mentoring

• Mentor Page: A separate mentor page (example) exists to facilitate mentor-mentee interactions.
  • Initially, Chloe will serve as the mentor for all participants. Guest lecturers may also serve as mentors as the program evolves.

Extras

• Transparency: All bounties and funding are distributed on-chain, making them publicly auditable. This information will be displayed on community dashboards.
• Kudos and Dings: Kudos are used to give positive reputation, while Dings are used for negative reputation.
• Research Article Writing Guide: A collaborative guide for writing research articles will be available on Web4 pages at a later date.
  • Post from NRC DAO with link to web4 pages?

NEAR Certified Researcher Course Syllabus

Course Duration - 10 weeks + 4

• Start Date: February 28, 2024
• End Date: May 8, 2024
• Final Project Submission Deadline: June 5, 2024

Class Schedule

• Frequency: Weekly, every Wednesday - 10am AST
• Last Lecture: May 8, 2024
• Final Project Hand-in: On or before June 5, 2024

Office Hours

• Frequency: Weekly, every Friday - 10am AST
• Platform: NRC TG in NCR thread

Learning Objectives & Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Grasp the Fundamentals of Blockchain, Web3, and NEAR Protocol: Achieve a foundational understanding of blockchain, focusing on the NEAR Protocol, and gain practical experience in setting up a NEAR wallet and BOS profile. (Class 1)

2. Utilize Techniques for Data Retrieval from Blockchain: Become proficient in employing various tools like nearblocks.io and pikespeak.ai for data retrieval. (Class 2)

3. Transform and Visualize Data: Acquire hands-on experience with data visualization tools like Python and GPT-4 and learn how to transform blockchain data for specific use-cases. (Class 3)

4. Apply Advanced Data Analysis Techniques: Understand the use of AI for advanced data analysis. (Class 4)

5. Identify and Evaluate Research Topics: Develop skills for identifying potential research questions and evaluating their relevance within the blockchain ecosystem. (Class 5)

6. Examine Specialized Blockchain Topics: Understand governance models, DeFi mechanisms, NFT market trends, and the application of blockchain in gaming. (Class 6)

7. Explore Advanced Cryptographic Concepts: Gain a foundational understanding of cryptographic primitives and the applications and limitations of zero-knowledge proofs. (Class 7)

Course Plan

Module 1:

Introduction to Blockchain and NEAR Protocol

Class 1 (February 28, 2024) : Foundations of Blockchain and NEAR Protocol

• Introduction to blockchain technology and the NEAR Protocol, concluding with practical exercises in wallet and BOS profile setup.

Class 2 (March 6, 2024): Data Retrieval and Analysis (Methods for Blockchain Data Retrieval)

• Exploration of tools such as nearblocks.io, pikespeak.ai, and CLI calls to public RPC. Guest lecture by the Pikespeak Team.

Module 2

Data Transformation and Visualization

Class 3 (March 13, 2024) : Data Transformation and Visualization Techniques

• Utilization of Python & GPT-4 for data visualization, with a case study focusing on transforming EasyPoll data.

Class 4 (March 20, 2024): Advanced Data Evaluation Techniques with AI

• Introduction to advanced AI tools for complex data analysis for research.

Module 3

Specialized Topics in Blockchain

Class 5 (March 27, 2024): Research Topic Identification (Identifying Potential Research Topics)

• A brainstorming session to discuss and identify potential research topics.

Class 6 (April 3, 2024) : Governance in Blockchain

• Examination of governance models, case studies, and data-driven insights.

Class 7 (April 10, 2024): Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

• Exploration of smart contracts, liquidity pools, and other DeFi mechanisms.

Class 8 (April 17, 2024): Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

• Analysis of market trends, valuation models, and data-driven insights.

Class 9 (April 24, 2024): Blockchain in Gaming

• Study of monetization strategies, user engagement, and data analytics in blockchain-based gaming.

Module 4

Advanced Research Topics

Class 10 (March 1st, 2024):

Advanced Topics in Cryptography

• Introduction to cryptographic primitives and protocols.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs

• Exploration of the applications and limitations of zero-knowledge proofs.

Final Project and Certification

• Final Project Hand-in: On or after May 8, 2024
• Final Project Submission Deadline: June 5, 2024
• Weekly quizzes will be conducted on Easy Poll.
• Certification will be issued as a community NFT minted to the participant's account from the NRC DAO.