Descentralized Futures: First Polkadot Developer Program for Romania and Republic of Moldavia

Introduction
Scope: This proposal seeks to expand the Polkadot ecosystem, nurture a skilled developer base and raise awareness of Polkadot innovative technologies in Romania and Republic of Moldavia by train and onboard 100 developers through the First Polkadot Developer Program for Romania and Republic of Moldavia.

Integration with Polkadot/Substrate/Kusama: The project will leverage Polkadot’s parachain architecture to empower developers to build innovative blockchain applications. We’ll focus on educating participants on Substrate development for building custom parachains tailored to regional needs, XCM and Agile Coretime, which enables efficient utilization of Polkadot network resources and provides economic flexibility for builders.

Who we are
Comets of Web3 is the biggest Blockchain Builders Community in Romania, with a vibrant 4000+ online community, 400 in-person active Blockchain Builders in the community, numerous partnerships in the works, and tons of projects to do.
Comets of Web3 is currently collaborating with some of the biggest blockchain ecosystems in the world for building and growing the Eastern Europe blockchain builders community (e.g. Solana, Ethereum, Polygon). We would be delighted to join forces with Web3 Foundation on bringing the Polkadot Ecosystem in Eastern Europe as well.
We have already organized multiple Blockchain Builders dedicated events and bootcamps in all of Romania’s important cities (e.g. Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara) and have partnerships with reputable organizations such as DoraHacks, Cosmos Brasil, EthCluj, multiple Technical Universities and others.

Problem
The Polkadot ecosystem and technical stack is currently not well-known and adopted in Eastern Europe Blockchain Community, particularly in Romania and Republic of Moldavia.

Solution
The “First Polkadot Developer Program for Romania and Republic of Moldavia” project will offer courses both online and on-site, ensuring accessibility and convenience for all participants. The courses will be conducted in the national language, to facilitate better understanding and engagement. This approach will help in effectively reaching and educating a wider audience of developers across Romania and Republic of Moldavia.

  • Goal: Onboard developers to the Polkadot ecosystem through structured learning pathways and cohort-based training.
  • Educational Focus Areas:
    • Cross-Consensus Message Format, or XCM
    • Substrate Development Stack
    • Agile Coretime
    • Hands-on coding sessions and practical examples for smart contract development and deployment.
    • In-depth technical understanding of Substrate, XCM and Agile Coretime, including real-world applications across DeFi, TradiFi, ReFi, Supply Chain, and other industries.
  • Program Structure:
    • 100 developers and students trained and onboarded on Polkadot technologies and ecosystem
    • Cohorts: The program will consist of 2 cohorts, each comprising 50 participants.
    • Duration: Each cohort developer program will run for 6 weeks.

Project KPIs:

  • Program Participants: we aim to onboard 100 developers into the program.
  • Polkadot Developer Programs: we aim for 2 cohorts of 50 developers each
  • Technical Workshops: we aim to organize 24 Polkadot technical workshops
  • Attendance rate in training sessions: we aim for a minimum 70%.
  • Percentage of participants who complete the developer training program: we aim for a minimum 60%.
  • Hackathons: 2 hackathons organized
  • Hackathons teams: we aim to have at least 20 teams participating to the hackathons
  • Projects submitted during hackathon: at least 20 projects submitted

Expected Outcome:

  • Increased awareness and adoption of Polkadot in Romania and Moldova.
  • Creation of a skilled workforce capable of developing on Polkadot.
  • Establishment of Eastern Europe as a hub for Polkadot-related development and innovation.

Ecosystem Fit
Ecosystem Niche: This project serves as an on-ramp for students with technical experience and interest, developers, and entrepreneurs from Romania and Moldavia to enter the Polkadot ecosystem. We aim to build a regional hub for Polkadot development and innovation.

Target Audience: Our primary audience includes:

  • Blockchain developers
  • Students with technical experience and interest
  • Aspiring entrepreneurs
  • Blockchain enthusiasts
  • Universities interested in Web3 technologies and the Polkadot ecosystem

Needs Addressed: The project addresses the need for:

  • Regional awareness
  • Education
  • Resources specifically tailored for Polkadot Ecosystem growth in Romania and Moldavia

Team
Our team consists of experienced professionals from various fields including blockchain ecosystems, IT, business development, community management, marketing strategy, and more. We also have a community of over 400 active educators, engineers, validators, DAO experts, business developers, security auditors, and more, ready to help and get engaged in the project.

Team Members

  • Daiana M., Team Leader, ex-Ecosystem Projects Lead @ Interchain Foundation, Founder @ Comets of Web3
  • Emmanuel Norbert T. , ex-Parity Bridges Senior Project Manager, Trainer
  • Daniel M. , Project Manager
  • Ioana S., Community & Social Media Specialist
  • Corina S., Marketing & PR Specialist