Web3 Masterclass for Academics: Curriculum Development
Web3 Innovation HUB
101179566 — W3IH — ERASMUS-EDU-2024-CBHE
Executive Summary
The Masterclass aimed to (1) establish a common baseline on Web3 concepts across partner institutions, (2) map global and regional trends to academic needs, and (3) support curriculum development via structured workshops focused on outcomes, assessment, and ECTS alignment.
The working language was English; venue, logistics and on-site Wi-Fi/catering were provided by FON and Attic42.
Purpose and Theme
The main goal of the Web3 Masterclass 2025 was to empower academics to ideate and implement blockchain applications that reflect ESG values and support green innovation. The theme "Sustainable Web3 Innovations" challenged participants to think beyond technological feasibility and focus on creating responsible, scalable, and ethical digital solutions.
Structure of Event
The masterclass was structured as a comprehensive 3-day program with a mix of lectures, workshops, and hands-on activities designed to provide both theoretical knowledge and practical skills for Web3 curriculum development.
Impact and Highlights
- 21 participants on-site and 12 present online
- 12 lectures and workshops
- 10 lecturers
- Established a shared vocabulary and up-to-date view on Web3 trends, governance, and compliance considerations in higher education
- Produced preliminary curriculum artifacts during workshops: draft learning objectives/outcomes and initial module structures with proposed theory/practice breakdown and ECTS mapping for future refinement
- Strengthened collaboration between partner universities and industry-connected experts, building on prior W3IH event experience and a standardized reporting approach used across project activities
Program Structure
JUNE 11TH - Foundation & Introduction
The Masterclass opened with welcome remarks and partner introductions that aligned expectations and clarified the curriculum-development outputs for the consortium.
- Introduction to Web3 Technology - Established a shared vocabulary around blockchain, smart contracts, tokens, decentralized identity, and data storage—framed explicitly for academic adoption (delivered by Pavle Batuta and Nemanja Petrović)
- Global Web3 Trends - Situated current adoption patterns across sectors and highlighted where universities can make the most impact (speaker: Aljoša Makević)
- Legal and Regulatory Frameworks in Web3 - Mapped core compliance themes—KYC/AML, data protection, and IP—relevant to course design and institutional risk management (speaker: Ilija Rilaković)
- Regional Web3 Ecosystem Panel - Partners compared existing initiatives and prerequisites for introducing new courses, consolidating a baseline for the next two days of work
JUNE 12TH - Practical Applications
The second day focused on practical applications and their translation into teaching blocks.
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Tech & Market Impact - Clarified protocol primitives and risk/benefit trade-offs that can be turned into modules and case studies (speaker: Aljoša Makević)
- NFTs in Education and Innovation - Explored verifiable achievements, alumni/community building, and IP considerations, with examples suitable for labs and assignments (speaker: Aljoša Makević)
- Blockchain in E-business ecosystems - Showcased integration patterns and business cases that lend themselves to project-based evaluation (speaker: Petar Lukovac)
- Case: Presentation of Web3 Curricula at FON - Provided a concrete reference for outcomes, assessment, and lab organization (speaker: Zorica Bogdanović)
- Hands-on Workshop - Teams drafted program goals, learning objectives/outcomes, and an initial map of topics to be refined in accreditation-ready syllabi (facilitated by Milica Simić)
JUNE 13TH - Research & Implementation
The final day connected research, module architecture, and student engagement.
- Decentralized Science (DeSci): Future of Research - Outlined how Web3 can support transparency, verification, funding, and open science incentives in academic practice (speaker: Filip Milenković)
- Program Structure Workshop - Translated research insights into program structure—balancing theoretical and practical scope, defining assessment forms, and proposing an ECTS layout for modules (facilitated by Tamara Naumović and Milica Simić)
- Student Engagement Discussion - Gathered concrete ideas for motivating and involving students (hackathons, clubs/mentoring, industry cooperation, and micro-credentials) with the FON team
- Networking & Next Steps - Informal networking to align next steps and future collaboration