Strengthening the Ecosystem: the Interchain Foundation continues to invest in the Interchain Developer Academy
The ICF-funded training program for the Interchain stack returns with increased capacity for its fourth cohort
Following the successful completion of the third round of the Interchain Developer Academy in March 2023, applications for the fourth expanded cohort are now open. The Interchain Foundation continues to fully fund this intensive training program, with the objective of bringing in experienced web2 devs who want to begin a career in blockchain, or supporting existing web3 devs who want to build with the stack and contribute to the Ecosystem.
High demand for places means this cohort will be bigger than ever. 550 developers have been through the program since its inception in May 2022, and Cohort 4 has been expanded to accommodate 300 new participants, including from teams within the Ecosystem.
The Academy program
The Academy is a seven-week online program providing more than 70 hours of content developed and delivered by blockchain experts from our education partner, B9Lab. Each participant’s self-paced journey benefits from hands-on guidance from a skilled support team, not to mention the collective knowledge and experiences shared by cohort members within a dedicated community platform.
The program covers the foundational principles of blockchain technology, provides an updated and comprehensive exploration of the Interchain stack and the Ecosystem, and centrally features an extended practical coding aspect to help embed new learned knowledge and techniques. Participants who pass the final exam receive official certification from the Interchain Foundation, and join a growing alumni community to encourage ongoing engagement as they seek opportunities within the Ecosystem, such as those listed on the B9Lab jobs board.
Impressive developer satisfaction
Past participants have reported a 97% approval rate for the Academy as a whole, with particular praise expressed for the practical training aspects and the guidance provided by our team of experts.
Graduate feedback has been very positive across all three previous cohorts:
“It was great, I loved the content and the instructors. This was the most useful and informative free online web3 course I’ve seen.”
— Serdar Turkmenafsar | Cohort 3 graduate
“The support of instructors and fellow students in the Academy helped deepen my understanding of blockchain concepts, and motivated me not to give up on pursuing a real-world job in the Interchain Ecosystem. I’ve already been offered a role working on a Cosmos SDK-based blockchain project, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!”
— Stefano Magini | Cohort 3 graduate
“Rewarding, and exactly what I needed to connect the dots between web2 and web3.”
— Oleg Nykolyn | Cohort 3 graduate
“I spent a lot of time in 2021 and 2022 learning about Interchain and the tech, but personally I like going through a more structured training program to make sure all my bases are covered properly. The Interchain Developer Academy was a great way to both learn more details of the Interchain stack and to really practice my skills. I found the Academy a great in-depth experience.”
— Gjermund Garaba, CTO & co-founder Empower.eco | Cohort 2 graduate
“I found the Academy to be very thorough, exhaustive and helpful. I feel confident I now have the tools and network to start building my own Interchain-based app chain.”
— Max Heilman | Cohort 2 graduate
“The most valuable thing about the Academy is by far the amount of support that you get from both the instructors AND the community. I now have a much better understanding of Cosmos SDK and what it takes to develop an application-specific blockchain. If you’re interested in becoming a Cosmos SDK developer, joining the Academy is a no-brainer.”
— Basel Hashish, Support & Solutions Engineer | Cohort 1 graduate
Cohort 4 application process
Applications are now open to join Cohort 4. This process begins with a screening test to evaluate each applicant’s knowledge of web2 software development concepts and problem-solving skills. The screening test deadline is May 8th and the program will run from May 18th to August 4th, including the four week examination period.
Visit academy.interchain.io to find out more about the application and screening process.
About B9Lab
B9Lab have trained over 17,000 people in more than 160 countries about multiple blockchain protocols, and have been tasked by the Interchain Foundation to run the Interchain Developer Academy. They are passionate about technology adoption, getting new developers into web3, and helping blockchain ecosystems to thrive.
