Learn to compose unfamiliar Web3 systems. You may eventually produce a working vertical slice, interface, integration or other reviewable build.
Track Selection Card
About 809 wordsAbout 3 min
Estimated time · 25 min
This is the last page of the Foundation. The full Academy continues into a Builder or Researcher Deep Dive in Weeks 5–6. This card is not your final PoW proposal. Your track choice is fixed for W5–W8, but you are not committing to a final topic yet. Your domain, question and final PoW idea may evolve through the Deep Dive and W7.
For Foundation Pilot learners, completing this card as part of the Week 4 Anchor Mission is the final required Foundation output. It remains a useful map of what you might build or investigate next.
The useful output is a better next question
One small thing you may want to build or investigate. Not a startup, not a finished product and not a final PoW scope. Use the card to notice what interests you and what you still need to learn.
Learning objectives
- Distinguish the Builder and Researcher ways of working
- Select a Builder or Researcher track for the W5–W8 capability path
- Identify current knowledge gaps and explain why the selected track fits the kind of work you want to practise
Core
Two Deep Dive tracks
The tracks describe a kind of work, not a prestige tier. Domains such as DeFi, stablecoins, NFTs, RWA, prediction markets, DePIN, infrastructure, governance and AI × Web3 are cases that may be explored through either track.
Learn to decompose unfamiliar Web3 systems. You may eventually produce an evidence-backed analysis, measurement or other defensible research artefact.
Your Track Selection Card
Write one or two lines for each field. Keep the domain and final PoW topic open.
Selected track — Builder or Researcher. This selection remains your Academy path through W8.
Choose the kind of work you want to practise through the Deep Dive and Proof of Work.
Topics or domains of interest — what areas, systems or questions are currently catching your attention?
Something you may build or investigate — one small possibility, not a final project commitment.
Current knowledge gaps — two or three things you do not yet understand well enough to work on confidently.
Why this track fits — connect the choice to the kind of work you want to practise, not to its prestige.
This is not your PoW proposal
Your track is fixed for W5–W8. Your domain, question and final deliverable may evolve through Deep Dive; W7 combines deciding the scope with producing an MVP / V1.
What comes next
| Stage | What it does |
|---|---|
| W5 Deep Dive | Six Builder or Researcher Part tasks, each worth 100 points |
| W6 Deep Dive | Six more Part tasks, each worth 100 points |
| W7 | Scope + MVP / V1 · 200 points |
| W8 | Refine + Final PoW · 200 points |
Landscape
- Builder — a track for learning to compose unfamiliar Web3 systems
- Researcher — a track for learning to decompose unfamiliar Web3 systems
- Case or application domain — an area such as stablecoins, DeFi, NFTs or governance; it is not a permanent Academy track
- PoW topic and domain — flexible until W7, when scope definition and the first meaningful version happen together
Track kits
The Builder Deep Dive and Researcher Deep Dive pages are structural scaffolds. The Education team will add the detailed lessons and Part tasks later.
Worked example
The same interest can point toward either track without becoming a final project yet.
"I'm interested in stablecoins."
| Field | Example answer |
|---|---|
| Track | Researcher |
| Topics | Reserves, freezing, chain deployment and what holders have to trust |
| Something I may investigate | Compare one or two stablecoin designs using official documents and on-chain evidence |
| Knowledge gaps | How attestations work; what freeze functions can and cannot do |
| Why it fits | I want to practise tracing claims and evidence before deciding on a final deliverable |
This is enough to guide Deep Dive learning. It does not decide the final PoW question, scope or definition of done.
Further exploration — optional, not assessed
Sources and attribution
- ethereum.org — Developer resources — Reuse (CC BY 4.0), adapted
- Dune — Link, referenced only
- DefiLlama — Link, referenced only
- Messari Research — Link, referenced only
Changelog
9/15/26, 6:27 PM
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5a3b0-refactor(academy): finalize two-track curriculum architectureonff0f4-feat(academy): finalize Foundation learning experienceona931f-docs(foundation): finalize beginner learning path and handbook UXon80d94-feat(foundation): complete Weeks 3-4 and add the visual layeron2d4b4-docs(curriculum): finalize Week 0-2 Foundation revisiononaed71-Bootstrap Blockchain@NTU Academy Handbookon