Unexpected Gains from the Polkadot Ecosystem Developer Course

Recently, a course titled "Solidity on Polkadot" has attracted considerable attention. This course was originally intended to test the market response to the PolkaVM development toolchain, but unexpectedly attracted 219 participants, with an assignment completion rate of nearly 38%. This data is not only impressive, but what is even more surprising is that through this course, we glimpse the future development direction of the Polkadot Chinese developer ecosystem.

Course Background: Not Just Following Trends

Against the backdrop of the Polkadot 2.0 upgrade, PolkaVM, as an Ethereum-compatible execution environment, is likely to become the entry point for Web2 or EVM developers to engage with Polkadot. However, the reality is that many people still perceive Polkadot as "complex," "difficult to understand," and "high barrier to entry."

The original intention of designing this course is not only for promotion but, more importantly, to answer the following questions:

• What are developers most concerned about in the new VM environment?
• Is PolkaVM an opportunity or a barrier for them?
• Can the toolchain support real project development?
• Which stage in the development journey is most likely to encounter problems?

Four Unexpected Discoveries

1. The enthusiasm of learners exceeds expectations

Most participants are from the post-90s generation, and a quarter are students. They voluntarily invest 1-2 hours a day in learning, demonstrating a strong desire for knowledge and a spirit of exploration.

2. Experience does not equal ease of use

Even developers with practical experience in EVM projects may encounter confusion when facing the Polkadot ecosystem. The biggest challenge is not the code itself, but the need to rebuild a cognitive model.

3. Participants are not just learners, but also contributors to the ecosystem

The students are brave to ask questions, report bugs, and test the technical boundaries. Their feedback directly drives the improvement of the toolchain and the perfection of the documentation.

4. Overall development experience determines ongoing participation

Whether developers will continue to use PolkaVM depends not only on the coding process but also on the entire process experience from environment setup to deployment results.

The Multiple Value of Courses

This course is not just about knowledge transfer, but has also created three important outcomes:

1. Chain Pressure Testing: A series of technical issues were identified and resolved through practical operations.

2. User Profiles and Demand Analysis: Understanding the concerns and pain points of different types of developers.

3. Product Expectation Management: Through practical demonstrations, the current status and potential of PolkaVM were showcased.

Future Outlook

The emergence of PolkaVM provides new opportunities for DApp developers. Although it is still new, it is precisely because it is new that it may become an opportunity for small teams to overtake. The Polkadot ecosystem is rich in resources and has great potential, making it worthy of in-depth exploration by developers.

We are preparing the next course, and everyone is welcome to suggest modules or project practice ideas they are interested in.