Grant Request for Ethereum Workshops in Split

Project Title: Ethereum Workshops in Split
Project Duration: 12 workshops over the next 10 months.
Target Audience: Developers and blockchain enthusiasts at varying levels of expertise.
Estimated Attendance: 15-50 participants per workshop.
Workshop duration: Between 1.5 hours and 4 hours
Objective: To elevate blockchain literacy and practical Ethereum skills within the local and regional community, thus strengthening the Ethereum network's foundation.
Funding Ask: $500 per workshop, totaling $6,000 to cover organization costs, promotion, and speaker travel and accommodations.

2. Introduction

Digitalna Dalmacija and BlockSplit have partnered to launch WEB3 WORKSHOPS, aimed at unraveling the complexities of the Web 3 technology to a broad audience.

These workshops wil be technically organised by Digitalna Dalmacija, and curated by BlockSplit. We will organise 12 Ethereum workshops over next 10 months.

First workshop cycle

First three workshops will be facilitated by the Split-based web3 development company Blank.

The series kicks off with 1.5 h workshops scheduled for February 29, March 7, and March 14, covering:

an introduction to blockchain and smart contracts,
NFT development, and
advanced topics in security.

Second workshop cycle

Next, we plan a 4-day long Ethereum course. Each day will have a 4 hour workshop. The course is scheduled for end of April or begining of May.

Tentative curriculum is:

Coding smart contracts with solidity
Writing and running scripts and tests with typescript using HardHat, deploying contracts
Using L2 SDK, Typescript scripts and tests, practical example using tokens with OpenZeppelin contracts library
Building dApps efficiently with production ready tooling and techniques (frontend and backend)
Project building exercise

Teacher is Matheus Pagani from Venture Miner Academy.

Previous work

BlockSplit has a long history of organising Ethereum workshops, dating back to 2017. when we organised first Ethereum workshop held by Sulejman Sarajlija from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Attendees of that workshop were the future founders of Blank. Over next years we continued organising workshops during every iteration of BlockSplit conference.

Some of the workshops we have organised as part of BlockSplit conference:

Mislav Javor - Building a DAO
Bruno Škvorc - Setting up an ICO
Sulejman Sarajlija - Atomic Swaps, 0x and building DEXes
Admir Šabanović - Building state channels for microtransactions on Ethereum network
Luka Klancir - Implementing blockchain technology into business
Clement Lesaege - A Practical Introduction to Game Theory for Blockchain
G. Spasov & V. Ivanov - NFT deployment with Etherlime
B. Rennekamp - Upgradable NFT metadata
Alvaro Rodriguez Resino - Blockchain business models
Emilio Frangella & Ernesto Boado - Lending pools in decentralized finance
Mislav Javor - Building a DAO in 2019: zero to hero
Clement Lesaege - Making arbitrable smart contracts
Marko Prljić - Intro to Web3 Design
Sonja Prstec, Zana Islami, Cindy Lam, Mark Ery, Mya Shofany, Nathan Cho, Damir Vukoja - Legal challenges in blockchain space
Filip Dujmušić, Matija Pevec - Fullstack Dapp Workshop for developers
Olaf Tomalka, Hassan Malik - Oh Snap! It’s Metamask!
Alex Suvorov, Asia Ziola - Oracles and Contracts
Schwarze Katze - Growth Hacking your Protocol
Ulysse Ramage - Simplifying UX flows in Web3 dApps
Federico Kunze Küllmer - Evmos dApp Store: how to create user rewards and incentivize smart contracts
Shyamal Patel, Sun Raghupathi - From Zero to DeFi Strategist with the Sommelier Stack
Alexey Lapitsky - Secure you contracts with Backstage: security workflows and on-chain access management at scale
Ivo Georgiev - What is account abstraction and how we can leverage it?
Sem Bloom - Coding DAOs with EVMcrispr
Ivan Andrišek, Mario Vukelić - Building smart contracts on Astar network
Andrej Šarić - Intro to NEAR JS SDK
Markus Sabadello - Decentralized Identifiers Workshop
Muhammed Tanrıkulu - Intro to Web3 Profiles with ENS
Adam Bouktila - From Physical to Digital: How Tokenisation is Transforming Real World Assets
Moritz Stellmacher - Unlocking NFTs with Remix: A Hands-on Workshop for Beginners
Bruno Skvorc - NFTs 2.0 for reputation, global equippables, and other world-changing solutions

3. Project Rationale

The interest in blockchain technology is rapidly growing in Croatia. However, there's a noticeable gap in high-quality, accessible education on Ethereum. Our workshops are designed to bridge this gap, thereby fostering a well-informed community adept in leveraging the Ethereum platform.

The tech community in Split, the second largest city in Croatia, is not only vibrant and burgeoning but also significantly large, comprising over 10,000 developers. Split, with a metropolitan area population exceeding 350,000 people, offers a fertile ground for technological innovation and community engagement. The city’s strong educational base, particularly highlighted by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FESB), plays a pivotal role in nurturing a culture of innovation and providing the tech community with highly skilled professionals. This robust connection between a dynamic tech community and esteemed academic institutions like FESB fosters an environment of continuous learning and collaboration. As such, Split is recognized not only for its historic and scenic beauty but also as an emerging hub for technology and development, making it a unique and strategic location for fostering technological advancements and community growth.

4. Project Objectives

Cultivate a local and regional community of Ethereum enthusiasts and professionals for mutual growth and collaboration.
Boost the visibility and practical adoption of Ethereum technology across different sectors within the region.

5. Workshops Details

Curriculum and Content: Starting with basics like blockchain technologies, smart contracts, and NFTs, to advanced concepts like token creation, with theoretical foundations and practical examples.
Instructors: Ethereum experts from various Croatian companies such as Blank, but also international experts.
Materials and Resources: Participants will be provided with guides, toolkits, and online resources for continued learning.

6. Implementation Plan

Venue: PICS@FESB, located at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Split, ideal for interactive sessions.
Schedule: We will plan the activities in accordance with speakers availability and in coordination with other major events not to have schedule conflicts.
Outreach and Promotion: Engagement strategies include leveraging social media, local tech communities, and partnerships with educational institutions.
Attendees selection: We usually get more applicants than there are seats. When this happens, we conduct a in person test to check their level of knowledge and accept the best ones.
Recording: All the workshops will be recorded and streamed.

7. Budget and Funding Request

We request $6,000 from the Ethereum Foundation, allocating $500 per workshop. This budget will adequately cover the organization, promotion, speaker fees, travel, and accommodation, and attendee prizes, ensuring the workshops are free and accessible to all interested participants.

Speaker fees are between $200 and $300 per hour.
Accommodation is usually $100 per night.
Cost of organisation and promotion is usually $100 per workshop.

8. Evaluation and Impact

The workshops' success will be gauged through participant feedback, engagement metrics, and the practical application of skills. We expect a significant uptick in Ethereum community engagement and project development as a direct outcome of these workshops.

9. Conclusion

This initiative represents a strategic opportunity to significantly elevate the blockchain expertise in Split, Croatia. We are grateful for the Ethereum Foundation's consideration and support of our educational endeavors that aim to enrich the global Ethereum community.