- A blockchain development masterclass
Bihan Mahadewa, having earned his Master in Computer Sciences degree at 18, is the youngest graduate in Asia. Mahadewa just exited an edtech start-up and currently teaches programming to over 110,000 students online. He’s also a part-time visiting lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL).
Harsha Abeygunasekara, a medical dropout, has had four successful e-commerce businesses in the past and is a two-time founder. He’s also the Founder of Help.lk, which is one of the most innovative edtech platforms in Sri Lanka.
The two recently crossed paths and joined forces to form a start-up by the name Metana.io, providing users with a blockchain masterclass. We had a chat with the two to learn more about what the start-up offers, and here’s what they shared.
What is Metana.io?
Learning blockchain development is hard, especially when there are too many resources. We’ve created a set programme for existing developers to learn about blockchain development in just four months. Simply, Metana trains existing engineers to be blockchain developers in a four-month project-based boot camp programme.
Developers from Sri Lanka or anywhere in the world can join our programme. After completing the programme, they can work remotely for companies based in the US, Canada, and Europe.
What is blockchain technology and how does it work?
As the name suggests, blockchain is nothing but a growing chain of blocks (records) that holds information of transactions taking place over the web. Every block (record) contains data in the form of coding that is organised in a chronological manner.
A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger (database) of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain. Each block in the chain contains a number of transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of that transaction is added to every participant’s ledger.
The main purpose of the blockchain is to allow fast, secure, and transparent peer-to-peer transactions. It is a trusted, decentralised network that allows for the transfer of digital values such as currency and data. The future of the web is web3, which is also powered up by blockchain technology.
What was the inspiration behind the start-up?
Bihan wanted to hire a blockchain engineer and there was a big scarcity in the market. Existing blockchain engineers go for a salary of over $ 200,000 a year or more. So Bihan had to learn about blockchain development to get his work done. After understanding the market and talking to over 400 developers who want to learn about blockchain, we were sure that this problem needs to be solved.
What is the training programme like?
Our boot camp programme is a full-time programme that is taught by industry professionals who have worked at companies such as Solana Labs, OpenAI, and Meta. The programme is completely remote and could be taken at home. We also help/mentor with our partnering platform Pedestal on weekends.
What does Metana offer that other programmes don’t?
There are other programmes on the internet that teach blockchain technology. Our competitive advantage over them is, we have partnerships with Solana and other blockchain start-ups. This is one of our key advantages. Providing an internship opportunity at the end of the boot camp is our unique selling proposition.
Whilst the competition is focused on mini-courses, we are delivering full-time synchronous classes that are focused on building a web3 portfolio and working with teams. We teach not just coding, but how to excel in a remote work environment, and help our students find jobs after their programme completion.
What is the vision and mission behind Metana?
At Metana, we are focused on creating the best developers who are skilled with the best knowledge of blockchain. We skill up the people who want to become blockchain developers and help them create the future of web3 and secure their jobs in world leading start-ups.
What is the future like for blockchain developers?
Blockchain technology has already diverged into many sectors and is aiming to even increase further. These industries and then their functioning lookout for professional developers who can use and apply blockchain technology. The future of a developer for blockchain technology is immense and it is not going to decrease in the near future.
Industries like banking, security, real estate, education, healthcare, supply chain, and now even voting have started applying blockchain technology into their business and are going to continue using it. The scope for the professional developer is going to open up a lot of opportunities in the sectors and industries. The prospects will be large in number for the developer.
The developer can innovate and create even more amazing applications and make them beneficial for the economy and industries across the globe. Hence, to say it again, the future is blooming.
Do you plan on introducing more programmes in the future?
Yes, blockchain development is just the start. We plan to be at the forefront of education when it comes to teaching the latest technologies that make the web 3.0 and Metaverse possible.
What’s next?
Our pre-seed round is open at the moment. On 16 January 2022, we’re launching our first cohort. We already have a partnership with Solana, but not yet with Ethereum. We are working to partner up with Ethereum as a platform and our target is to train 1,000 students in FY2022.
Those interested in joining the next cohort, or who would like to learn more about Metana, can visit their website or email them.
Web: https://metana.io/
Email: info@metana.io
