Web3 education platform and incubator EasyA has secured a “Decentralized Futures Grant” from the Web3 Foundation to enhance its latest initiative, EasyA x Polkadot University. This project aims to empower blockchain innovators by leveraging university talent to create a comprehensive educational program centered around the Polkadot ecosystem.
According to a press release, EasyA, co-founded by graduates of the University of Cambridge and The Wharton School, has achieved significant success, with over 1 million downloads and recognition as Apple’s App of the Day. The platform has been instrumental in bringing developers into the Web3 space, organizing in-person hackathons in cities such as San Francisco, London, and Singapore.
The new university program will provide workshops, hackathons, and grants to assist students in developing projects within the Polkadot framework. This nine-month initiative aims to bolster Polkadot’s visibility in academic circles while expanding its developer base, drawing inspiration from successful models like Solana University.
As the demand for Web3 professionals surges, the initiative seeks to address the growing need for skilled talent, offering competitive salaries and diverse opportunities across various roles, including finance specialists, product managers, and developers. Companies are increasingly seeking individuals with a solid grasp of decentralization and blockchain principles, alongside technical expertise.
The Web3 Foundation, which oversees Polkadot’s development, has allocated a prize pool of 10 million DOT tokens—approximately $65 million—to facilitate the rollout of the Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM) upgrade within the Polkadot ecosystem. Participants in the EasyA program will need to meet specific criteria, including block production, performance standards on Kusama and Polkadot, and successful completion of security audits.
EasyA has emerged as a vital contributor to developer engagement on Polkadot, with nearly 1,000 startups originating from its hackathons this year. The platform is praised for its user-friendly interface and engaging learning experience, making it a favored choice among aspiring Web3 developers.
Alumni of EasyA have founded startups valued at over $2.5 billion, securing investments from leading venture capital firms. Notably, Cognition AI, co-founded by Walden Yan—an EasyA hackathon winner—achieved a valuation of $2 billion in April. Yan initially pitched his blockchain-based DALLE idea at an EasyA hackathon held at Harvard in 2022.
Despite the initiative’s promise, the complexities of blockchain technology, including decentralized systems and various consensus algorithms, present a significant learning curve even for experienced developers. The diversity of networks, each with distinct programming languages and tools, further complicates the onboarding process for newcomers.
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