DevRel Uni Cohort 6 Powered by Arbitrum - Final Report
1. Executive Summary
DevRel Uni partnered with Arbitrum to cultivate and empower DevRel talent within its ecosystem, aligning with Arbitrum’s mission to be the home for builders. Building on the success of five previous cohorts, DevRel Uni Cohort 6 - powered by Arbitrum provided structured training and mentorship, equipping participants with the skills needed to support protocols and builders in the Arbitrum ecosystem.
DevRel Un Cohort 6 - Powered by Arbitrum contributed to expanding DevRel efforts across the ecosystem, ensuring that builders received the necessary support to succeed. This collaboration laid the foundation for potential future expansions, including in-person events and broader DevRel initiatives, strengthening long-term talent development and ecosystem growth.
Key highlights:
- Number of Participants: 60 selected participants from diverse backgrounds, across 30+ countries around the world.
- Notable Achievements: Hands-on experience with Arbitrum and Stylus, creation of technical content, increased engagement for Arbitrum in the Web3 space
- Overall Impact: Strengthened the Web3 ecosystem by equipping participants with practical skills and fostering long-term involvement with Arbitrum, as well as supported the Arbitrum ecosystem with DevRel resources
2. Program Overview
While the initial proposal included six lectures, we added an additional one on Arbitrum to enhance the participants’ experience and to maximize their learning in regards to the Arbitrum ecosystem. The seventh lecture was delivered by Matt Hamilton - the DevRel from Arbitrum Foundation, and focused exclusively on equipping participants with knowledge about Arbitrum and its products.
| Mentor | Session Name | Date | Associated Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bianca Buzea | Developer Relations: A Comprehensive Primer | 16 Oct | -What is DevRel |
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Different roles under the DevRel umbrella such as Dev. Evangelist, DevRel Engineer, Technical Writer, etc.
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Developer First Protocols vs Developer Plus Protocols
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Creating an initial DevRel Audit|
|Matt Hamilton|Intro to Arbitrum and Stylus|18 Oct|- What is Arbitrum -
How Arbitrum is different from other L2s
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Arbitrum and its ecosystem
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Stylus and its capabilities
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Stylus and its multi-VM setup
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Arbitrum and Stylus Resources|
|Kevin Blanco|The Art of Storytelling in DevRel Video Content|23 Oct|- How to Incorporate Storytelling into Content Creation -
Overview of storytelling frameworks like the Golden Circle Technique and the Hero’s Journey
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Building a compelling and successful developer journey|
|Coogan Brennan|Building Dev Knowledge: From Documentation, Bootcamp, and
Beyond|30 Oct|- Approaching the creation of developer documentation and resources
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Designing engaging developer experiences
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Executing large-scale developer activations, such as bootcamps
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Tailoring developer resources based on company size and maturity|
|Austin Griffith|Accelerating dApp Development|6 Nov|- Exploring tools for rapid prototyping -
Introduction to Speed Run Ethereum, BuidlGuidl, ScaffoldETH, and other key resources
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Understanding the Ethereum ecosystem tech stack|
|Olayinka Oshidipe|Content Creation in DevRel|27 Nov|- Understanding your audience -
Choosing the right content type for different goals
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A 5-step framework for creating engaging videos: research, scripting, filming, post-production, and publishing
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Finding your niche to stand out as a technical content creator|
|Francesco Andreoli|Scaling Web3 Technology with Authentic DevRel and
Collaborative Dev Innovation|6 Dec|- Tips for building a thriving developer ecosystem
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End-to-end hackathon activations: preparation, execution, and post-hackathon strategies
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Understanding the hierarchy of developers’ needs
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Strategies for engaging developers and tracking the effectiveness of DevRel initiatives through metrics|
The sessions covered a broad range of skills essential for DevRel success: from understanding the different types of DevRel roles and their variations across protocols, to incorporating storytelling in content creation, building documentation and developer experiences that keep developers engaged, crafting compelling videos and content, communicating authentically with the developer community, to fast prototyping for dApps, and culminating in a session dedicated exclusively to Arbitrum and Stylus.
Each mentor session was paired with a complementary workshop and homework assignment, allowing students to apply the knowledge they gained and build a DevRel portfolio to leverage in their careers. This resulted in over 200 DevRel assets, including 30-60-90 day plans for a DevRel role at the Arbitrum Foundation, builder content utilizing storytelling techniques, key resource proposals to enhance the builder experience, technical tutorials on Arbitrum products, videos on Stylus, and articles summarizing key learnings from the cohort, among others.
Additionally, students participated in various challenges throughout the course, such as a daily social media challenge aimed at boosting their online presence and familiarizing them with the Arbitrum ecosystem.
3. Key Learning Outcomes
Nine ‘Key Learning Outcomes’ were designed in order to focus the course’s curriculum and create a framework to measure the course’s efficacy. These outcomes and their justification are outlined in table 1.2 below.
| Number | Title | Description | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Primary Goals of Developer Relations | I understand the core responsibilities of a Developer Relations professional. | Students should be able to understand the main tasks and challenges they should aim to solve as a DevRel. |
| 2 | Different Roles in Developer Relations | I am familiar with the different roles from the DevRel umbrella. | Students should be familiar with the responsibilities and differences between various DevRel roles and associated tasks. |
| 3 | Technical Communication | I can effectively communicate technical information to both developers and non-technical stakeholders. | Students should be comfortable communicating to technical audiences and with technical subject matter, as well as non-technical key stakeholders. |
| 4 | Engagement Strategies | I am familiar with the different types of developer engagement strategies in Developer Relations. | Students should be able to navigate a variety of developer outreach strategies and be able to strategically pick the most appropriate for a given situation. |
| 5 | DevRel Techniques | I am comfortable using different DevRel techniques to enhance the developer experience. | Students should be able to identify appropriate mechanisms and tools to engage the developer community, appropriate to the company’s size, that support the overall company strategy. |
| 6 | Arbitrum and Layer 2s | I understand how Arbitrum enhances scalability for Ethereum. | Students should have a solid understanding of the advantages and use cases of L2s using Arbitrum as an example. |
| 7 | Stylus | I can explain the advantages of using Stylus for Ethereum smart contracts. | Students should have a solid understanding of the benefits and use cases of Stylus for Ethereum smart contracts, using specific examples of its features and advantages. |
| 8 | Smart Contract Basics | I have written and deployed a smart contract on Arbitrum. | Students should be comfortable with deploying, monitoring, testing and writing simple smart contracts on Arbitrum. |
| 9 | Arbitrum | I can explain the benefits of using Arbitrum compared to other Layer 2 solutions. | Students should have a good understanding of the unique offerings of Arbitrum in comparison to other L2 solutions. |
4. Participation and Engagement Metrics
At the beginning of the course, we conducted a questionnaire to assess participants’ current DevRel knowledge and their familiarity with Arbitrum and its ecosystem.
The program hosted 60 students, with a graduation rate of 43.33%, significantly higher than the typical online course completion rate of 5-15%. To graduate, students had to complete all assignments and attend at least 80% of the classes. Additionally, over 200 homework tasks were completed, generating 100,000 views across various platforms (X, LinkedIn) as tasks were shared on social media.
The program included students from 30+ countries, with strong participation from the Asian region, aligning with the industry trend of Asia being the #1 continent by developer share. Special attention was given to ensuring representation from regions with developing Web3 communities, aiming to help expand the ecosystem globally. We intentionally selected participants from diverse regions, planting the seeds for future hubs around the world that will grow over time.
5. Impact on Learning Outcomes
The exit survey indicated significant growth in all key learning objectives (KLOs). On average, students reported a 38.5% increase in their knowledge across these areas. Notably, there was substantial growth in Objectives 7, 8, and 9, which are specifically focused on the Arbitrum and Stylus ecosystems. This will be further explored in the next section. Overall, the data shows that the program was a great success, with students reporting substantial growth across all learning outcomes.
However, KLOs 2 and 5, which focus on the ability to communicate information and knowledge of communication techniques, showed more modest growth compared to the other KLOs. These outcomes are more closely related to foundational DevRel knowledge. It’s possible that the emphasis on Arbitrum and more technically focused subjects resulted in less attention given to these areas compared to previous cohorts.
For future cohorts, this could be addressed by either extending the course duration or providing enhanced extracurricular resources on these topics, available to students before and after the course.
6. Arbitrum-Specific Outcomes
As noted above, the greatest growth among students was observed in areas related to the Arbitrum and Stylus ecosystems. On average, participants reported a 63.3% increase in confidence in these areas. We believe that this, coupled with improvements in other learning outcomes, indicates the program has successfully directed significant DevRel talent towards the Arbitrum ecosystem. Furthermore, we anticipate that the secondary impact of this course—through the employment of DevRel Uni alumni—will positively influence the Arbitrum ecosystem.
Additionally, 200 homework tasks were submitted by students, focusing exclusively on the Arbitrum ecosystem. Here are some notable examples:
Mini-interview with the Arbitrum Foundation DevRel
Video on Stylus - example1
Video on Stylus - example2
Video on Stylus - example3
30/60/90-Day DevRel Entrance Plan for Arbitrum Stylus - example 1
Suggestions to enrich Arbitrum Stylus Educational Content - example 2
Suggestions to enrich Arbitrum Stylus Educational Content - example 3
Course Overview - example 1: Hackernoon article
Course Overview - example 2
Course Overview - example 3: video
Course Overview - example 4
7. Compilation of Key Moments From Classes
8. Conclusion & Thank You
In conclusion, DevRel Uni Cohort 6, powered by Arbitrum, has been a great success, achieving its goal of nurturing DevRel talent within the Arbitrum ecosystem. Through structured training, mentorship, and hands-on experience, participants not only enhanced their DevRel skills but also gained a deeper understanding of Arbitrum and Stylus. The program has significantly contributed to expanding the DevRel efforts across the Arbitrum ecosystem and has laid the foundation for future initiatives, including potential in-person events and expanded DevRel outreach.
Key highlights include:
- 60 Participants from 30+ countries.
- Successful Completion Rate of 43.33%, well above the typical online course completion rate.
- Over 200 Homework Tasks completed, many of which focused on the Arbitrum ecosystem, showcasing the students’ growth and contributions.
- 63.3% Increase in Confidence for Arbitrum and Stylus-related learning outcomes.
The program’s impact is expected to extend beyond the course itself, as DevRel Uni alumni are poised to make a lasting impact on the Arbitrum ecosystem. The feedback from the exit surveys indicates a marked increase in confidence and knowledge, particularly in Arbitrum and Stylus, with continued growth in DevRel skills overall. The alumni’s contributions, such as technical tutorials and content creation, will further enrich the ecosystem.
In closing, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Arbitrum for their support and partnership in this endeavor. We are confident that the relationships built and skills acquired during this program will contribute to the long-term success of both the participants and the Arbitrum ecosystem.