Decentralizing Education at TE Academy

Published in

TE Academy

7 min readFeb 1, 2023

Token Engineering is an emergent, crypto-native discipline. Token engineers design, validate and optimize token economic systems. The systems and algorithms we build impact people; thus, we foster responsibility and uphold the values of the broader institution of professional engineering.

We see token engineering as a fundamental requirement to fulfill the vision of a decentralized, permissionless Web 3.0. At the Token Engineering Academy (TE Academy), we aim to establish token engineering as a recognized professional discipline.

We work to grow a global network of token engineering expertise, champion the potential and innovations of token-based economies,
discover, design, and deploy token-based value for communities, and educate web3 contributors on the vital role and responsibilities of token engineers.

Quality Education by Student Participation

Undoubtedly, any engineering discipline we know started with a small group of visionaries trailblazing the field. In October 2022, we launched TE Fundamentals — the first comprehensive education program with NFT-based certification based on the work of token engineering pioneers like Michael Zargham, Trent McConaghy, Kris Paruch, Jessica Zartler, Andrew Penland, and Angela Kreitenweis. Offered 100% online, TE Fundamentals is free and available to anyone, anywhere.

In planning, we asked how to
- Secure quality education and grow knowledge dissemination through student participation and achievement:
- Complement the online learning journey;
- Keep students engaged;
- Provide opportunities to meet teams and contribute to projects;
- Make multi-disciplinary collaboration flourish;
- Continuously improve via collecting and applying learnings, questioning and challenging assumptions;
- Leverage the diversity of our students’ backgrounds.

Creating a P2P Learning Program

With these goals in mind, we facilitated the creation of peer-to-peer (P2P) study groups to support student learning. TE Academy’s P2P study groups created a community around the online program. Plus, students can connect and learn from experienced, professional token engineers.

The results in only three months since the launch are impressive:

- More than 1600 students enrolments;
- 33 study groups;
- More than 200 study group sessions held in
- 14 languages;
- More than 650 exams passed;
- More than 470 account-bound tokens have been minted by students who achieve a 96% pass rate for each course.

In this retrospective, we share how we set up, tested, and rolled the TE Fundamentals Program and what we’ve learned.

Finding the Rights Hosts

We looked for study group hosts with intrinsic motivation. Expecting that serving as a study group host would lead to involvement in existing or new token engineering projects, the role was and should be temporary.

I stumbled upon the TEA in early 2022 and have been here ever since! It’s such a refreshing and positive community that motivated me to transition from being a member of the audience and start co-hosting my study groups. Thank you to everyone involved, including the academy founders, course creators, and the students; it was such a fantastic way of meeting new people and learning a lot; it was an unforgettable experience.
— Mark Date, “Back to Basics” and Machinations Study Group Host

A Study Group Host’s mission is not to teach but rather to share their learning journey. They offer peer support and connection to reduce isolation when studying online.

Our stats show that most students come from the U.S. and Europe, with solid representation in Latin America and Asia. Study group hosts embrace this cultural and professional diversity by providing their peers with a safe and motivating space.

Lastly, we attract students with relevant prior fields of study — from economics, computer science, and engineering to math and data science. Our study group hosts build on their professional experience and contribute to attracting highly sought-after talent from Web2 and traditional finance to crypto.

Host Onboarding and Support

Before hosting sessions, Study Group Hosts went through a structured selection and onboarding process. It includes a meeting to understand the candidates’ motivation. Three facilitation and communication training and monthly host syncs helped build a shared understanding of TE Academy values, program logistics and policies, and infrastructure like a Discord support channel for hosts, teams, and course creators.

While TE Academy requires hosts to commit to values and a minimum number of sessions run, they are free to shape the sessions: use visual aids and interactive tools, define the session’s language and time, and weekly agendas and rate of progress. Going over exam questions helped foster debate and developed a shared understanding of the course topics.

TE Program Rollout

Phase 1: TE360 Study Groups

The TE Academy study group initiative has now gone through two phases. We tested a five-session program called “TE360” in our pilot season. Each session focused on a particular token engineering topic. A Notion Overview shared the session program, schedules, and more details and invited students to sign up and join. With hundreds of early registrations for TE Fundamentals, our goal in phase 1 was to turn registrations into active students.

The pilot enabled us to
- Engage with prospective students while the TE Fundamentals course was prepared for launch;
- Gauge demand for study groups formats;
- Discover, test, and refine successful study group formats;
- Provide early opportunities to learn about token engineering.

The TE Academy team hosted the first cycle. In quick succession, proactive community members then started their sessions. In this phase, we also tested various languages and learned that native language sessions — Italian, Spanish, French — are of enormous value for community relationship building.

Between April and August 2022, around 45 sessions were held, and the results surpassed our expectations. Hosts translated learning material and formed organic networks across study groups in LATAM. They took creative license to design the learning experience and make sessions fun and engaging. The number of host candidates grew during Phase 1. They pioneered and promoted token engineering education globally.

Phase 2: TE Fundamentals Study Groups

The first cohort of TE Fundamentals study group hosts onboarded in August and September. The objective was peer-to-peer learning of the TE Fundamentals program. Host NFT criteria — developed in collaboration with hosts — celebrate the achievement of two main goals: sharing a three-month learning journey, and supporting other students to pass course exams.

The October host cohort reported completion in January 2023. A review council — TE Academy team and hosts — awarded a group of ten most successful hosts with an NFT certificate for Special Contributions to Token Engineering.

Congratulations to:

@cloudbasecrypto, @marcuspeters, @rowrowurboat, @xtiagosantana, @stellaachenbach, @FeeltheDefi, @MarkDate, @defin00, @lee0007, and @aleks_quant

P2P Study Group Learnings

Peer Groups Matter

With autonomy to shape sessions, hosts tested various learning approaches, ranging from quizzes, games, and memes to sophisticated progress trackers. Special interest groups formed, such as Visual Learners, TE by Memes, and Womxn in Web3. Overall, TE Academy benefits hugely from our host’s ability to reduce social and cultural barriers and coordinate timezones.

Ambitious Goals attract Ambitious Hosts

During the program, we learned that hosts who formulated their own ambition to become token engineers could attract the most active study group participants across all sessions. Discussing the selection criteria for the Special Contributions NFT, hosts voted for even more ambitious measures than those proposed by TE Academy. In searching for the best program and learning experience, defining and maintaining high standards pays off — and we are happy that study group hosts support this approach.

Feedback Loops drive Improvements

TE Academy initiated study groups to provide P2P learning environments. Throughout the program, hosts have contributed to the continuous improvement of the TE Academy program. We have learned and applied feedback from study group hosts to expand our program with TE Exercises, ecosystem expansion, and new community infrastructure, including Discord session calendars, self-assigned roles, and reminders.
Opportunities flow in both directions, and being a host is a great starting point for the next steps in a TE career. We’re glad that being a study group host has opened up opportunities beyond learning for students.

As someone looking to hire, hosting a study group is the most streamlined way to be exposed to people who are genuinely interested in token engineering. These individuals have taken the initiative to learn and expand their knowledge, showing passion and dedication. These people would be excited to take the opportunity of a professional career in this field, making them valuable team members to any team.
— Lukasz Szymanski, Poland Study Group Host & Founder of tokenomia.pro

We look forward to seeing many more students become successful token engineers.

Conclusion

The TE Academy Study Group program, has been a great success. We met our goals to support student learning and achievement. We’ve fostered knowledge exchange, global collaboration, and community networking. We’ve helped diverse perspectives and cross-disciplinary teamwork. Fast feedback loops led to new programs, formats, and connections. We are on track to establish token engineering as a recognized and leading discipline.

We want to thank and praise the following contributors to the P2P Learning program:

@8ctopuso, @phacker_, Joe_King, @0xAkina, @entigdd, @FaithObafemiEsq, @Dansmxge, @MarkDate, @skelegrow, @0xGurkan, @RowRowRoUrBoat, @Ariiellus, @BernieGotthart, @urbanohumano, @stellaachenbach, @meta_irony_, @valentinoketh, @decentraluis, @MosesSamPaul, @alexchain79, @defin00b, @ansonparker, @aviarnav, @DavidePasini, @Martti_Yl, @FireMcGuireJ, @CryptoFemmeNat, @jazznao0304, @woocash_eth, @lee0007, @malawadd, @Eliadebitcoin, @17commons, @0xShadowMirror, @JasonPlato_Wang, @JCarbonnell, @sunbh_eth, @especulacion, @fizzymidas, @anDAOrilho, @marcusp3t3rs, and more!