---
url: /academy-handbook/foundation/week-4/index.md
---
# Week 4 — Web3 industry, research and contribution

  

::: important Foundation Pilot · Sep–Oct 2026
The current Foundation Pilot ends after Week 4. The Week 4 Track Selection
Card is the final pilot output; the Builder and Researcher Deep Dive is the next
stage of the full Academy and is in development for **Cohort 1 · January 2027**.
:::

> **Core question — what does the Web3 world actually look like, and how do I
> investigate something I do not understand?**

Weeks 1–3 built the machine: state, consensus, incentives, assets, wallets,
contracts. This week is about the **industry built around it**, and about the one
skill that outlasts every specific fact in this handbook — knowing how to find
out.

| Part | Page | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | [The Web3 industry map](./part-1-industry-map.md) | 25 min |
| 2 | [Who is who, and what kind of thing is it](./part-2-who-is-who.md) | 25 min |
| 3 | [Which tool answers which question](./part-3-research-tool-map.md) | 25 min |
| 4 | [GitHub in practice](./part-4-github-in-practice.md) | 30 min |
| 5 | [AI-native building](./part-5-ai-native-building.md) | 20 min |
| 6 | [Track selection card](./part-6-direction-card.md) | 25 min |

**Anchor Mission:** [Week 4 mission](./anchor-mission.md) · 100 points

## The arc

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  P1["<b>1 · Industry map</b><br/><i>what sectors exist?</i>"]
  P2["<b>2 · Who is who</b><br/><i>what kind of thing is this?</i>"]
  P3["<b>3 · Research tools</b><br/><i>how do I check a claim?</i>"]
  P4["<b>4 · GitHub</b><br/><i>how do I show my work?</i>"]
  P5["<b>5 · AI-native building</b><br/><i>how do I build with AI, not blindly?</i>"]
  P6["<b>6 · Track selection</b><br/><i>what could I build or investigate next?</i>"]
  P1 --> P2 --> P3 --> P4 --> P5 --> P6
```

## What this week is for

Week 4 has two jobs, and they meet in the Anchor Mission.

**Recognition.** By the end you should be able to hear an unfamiliar protocol
named and place it — what sector, what kind of entity, what problem it claims to
solve — without knowing anything specific about it.

**Track selection.** Part 6 and the mission help you choose Builder or Researcher,
record the domains that interest you and identify your gaps. Once selected, the
track remains your Academy path through W5–W8. For Foundation Pilot learners,
the Track Selection Card is the final required Foundation output. In the full
programme, it starts the selected W5–W6 Deep Dive; the domain, question and
final Proof of Work idea may evolve until W7.

::: important The most transferable page in the handbook
[Part 3](./part-3-research-tool-map.md) teaches which source answers which kind of
question. Every fact in this handbook will age. That skill will not.
:::