@victorkanu1.near [Posted on DevHub](/devgovgigs.near/widget/Post?id=2991) {"title":"DevHub 2023: Rebranding and Transforming Developer experience ","subtitle":"","description":"","date":"2024-02-08T01:05:02.032Z","content":"\nAs we reflect on the transformative journey of 2023, we are reminded of a year marked by dynamic shifts and growth within the NEAR Developer ecosystem. From the rapid evolution of BOS technology to the surge in developer engagement, the past year has been nothing short of remarkable for DevHub.\n\nAt the onset of 2023, DevHub set out on a mission to redefine what developer engagement truly means. From hosting hackathons in multiple regions to fostering collaborative partnerships, our commitment to empowering developers has remained unwavering. Read all about our highlights and success from the previous year below! \n\n## **Empowering the Next Generation of Blockchain Developers with NEAR Campus:**\n\nOne of the pivotal milestones of 2023 was the launch of NEAR Campus (in October 2023), our initiative aimed at engaging junior software engineers early on as they choose their career path. We’ve been at top schools like University of Oxford and Cambridge. \n\nWith the establishment of university clubs across diverse regions and continents, including Latin America, Asia, Turkey, and Africa, we have successfully cultivated a vibrant ecosystem of more than 100 students. In 2024 we expect to have access to 500 junior developers. \n\nNot only do we engage students, but we also engage with faculty. By providing access to cutting-edge tools and resources, our goal is to integrate NEAR into the standard toolkit for developers in learning institutions.\n\n## **Decentralizing Developer Relations:**\n\nIn Q4, we embarked on a significant revamp of our Developer Relations strategy. Our aim was to make it more accessible and engaging for developers. We achieved this by introducing additional office hours and hosting regular workshops via Twitter Spaces, which led to a notable increase in developer engagement. We also established a consistent presence at hackathons and in-person events. Collaborating closely with the marketing team, we launched challenges and bounty boosters to incentivize participation during these events. \n\nWe also adopted a decentralized approach to DevRel, onboarding team members in locations where hackathons are held rather than having team members travel extensively. This decentralization strategy has led to improvements in tooling, infrastructure, and documentation. Our initial focus has been on the launch of China DevRels, with plans to expand into other regions such as Korea, Brazil, and Asia…where English is not the primary language.\n\n\n## **Hackathon Innovation with Hackbox**\n\nIn 2023 we productized everything we know about Hackathons, bounties and judging submissions…by developing “Hackbox” , a launchpad designed to streamline the hosting of hackathons , guiding first time hosts through setting up , marketing and hosting their own NEAR Hackathon. In collaboration with our vibrant community, we have successfully hosted 4 Hackbox hackathons across different regions, exposing 4,000 individuals to NEAR technology. With over 200 submissions and a keen focus on post-hackathon engagement, we monitor developer activities after every hackathon using “shard-dog” to track GitHub commits and we make sure Developers know what to do in the NEAR ecosystem after they join. \n\n## **Tooling and Infrastructure**\n\nSignificant progress has been made in enhancing the developer experience, leveraging two robust ecosystems: Rust and JavaScript. In the Rust stack, we're actively developing tools to streamline onboarding processes, including an online IDE that sets up your environment in just 5 minutes.\n\nThis online IDE integrates essential tooling such as `Cargo Near`, `NEAR CLI`, `NEAR Workspaces`, and `NEAR SDK`. While many find our tools intuitive, we're continuously seeking areas for improvement.\n\nTransitioning to the JavaScript stack, we're focused on developing smart contracts using `NEAR SDK JS`. Additionally, our partnerships are facilitating the creation of an interactive education platform for learning `NEAR SDK JS` …so watch out for that!\n\nJutsu, another exciting project in our ecosystem, is seamlessly integrated into Hackbox for an enhanced hackathon experience. Through these tools, we've witnessed individuals familiarize themselves with the technology and deploy applications in less than an hour. They find these tools remarkably user-friendly and conducive to development.\n\n## **The DevHub Portal**\n\nA year ago, we launched the DevHub Portal! designed to cater to every aspect of a developer's journey within the NEAR ecosystem. Serving as a one-stop shop, it offers a plethora of resources essential for making an impact on NEAR. \n\nHere, developers can share ideas and proposals, seek sponsorship, discover communities, and engage with like-minded individuals on a variety of different topics.\n\nThe development of this portal has been a collaborative effort, with numerous contributors involved in its iterative process. Together, we've implemented features such as community spaces, GitHub integrations, and announcements. Since its inception, the portal has garnered significant engagement, with over 400 unique authors contributing more than 2,000 long-form posts spanning from insightful ideas to detailed solutions.\n\nMoreover, we've provided sponsorship to over 400 projects and individuals, while also overseeing major project transitions such as MyNearWallet and NEAR Blocks. \n\nLooking ahead, we have several exciting features in the pipeline, including a redesign of the proposal journey and the transformation of the portal into a tool accessible not only to DevHub but also to any other partner within the ecosystem!\n\n## Technical Governance:\n\nIn our commitment to shaping NEAR's development, we introduced NEAR Enhancement Proposals (NEPs) . As a way to allow anyone submit proposals, for protocol upgrades, contract standard enhancements, and more. To ensure the credibility and progress of these proposals, we established over 6 formal Working Groups (WGs) comprising of subject matter experts who review and make decisions. Collaborating closely with the community, we have approved over 35 NEPs and discussed more than 75 across various aspects of the tech stack.\n\nEach day, we strive to refine our governance process further. You can revisit the decision-making process through recorded sessions on YouTube or explore the complete history of NEPs on GitHub. Additionally, we've launched numerous community groups, hosting over 35 brainstorming sessions to generate new ideas and solutions, some of which have resulted in the creation of new NEPs.\n\nWe encourage anyone with ideas to propose them and actively participate in our community or start their own! \n\n## Fellowship Program:\n\nThrough our fellowship program, we welcomed contributors who have made a significant impact. This initiative resulted in over 1000 commits that contributed to pull requests and the maintenance of more than 20 projects, including CLI SDKs and their dependencies. We're currently polishing the NEAR SDK Rust in preparation for its 5.0 release, thanks to the dedication of our valued contributors who have played a crucial role in our journey.\n\n## Upcoming Initiatives:\n\nLooking ahead of 2024, we have some exciting surprises in store:\n\n1. **Awareness and Engagement:**\n - We'll be ramping up our efforts to provide more developer-focused content, including blog articles, podcasts, and Twitter Spaces sessions. Additionally, we're opening up these opportunities to the community, inviting everyone to participate in the conversation. Join us at ETH Denver to be a part of it!\n - We've already launched ongoing challenges, allowing developers to hack on NEAR each month, earn bounties, and gain exclusive access to future hackathons and events.\n2. **NEAR Campus:**\n - We're launching quarterly cohorts for NEAR Campus, inviting universities and blockchain clubs to join. It's an open application process, and we're actively seeking the best blockchain clubs to onboard. Research grants will also be available.\n3. **Events:**\n - We're gearing up for four cohorts of Hackbox hackathons and meetups. Additionally, we'll host “Hackbox meets” for those not ready for full-scale hackathons but interested in smaller-scale NEAR meetups. This year, we're supporting five ETH Global hackathons, starting with ETHLondon in March. We're also introducing a NEAR-native hackathon platform.\n4. **DevDAO Operations:**\n - We're set to relaunch the portal, streamlining payments for our trustees to expedite the process for our contributors. We'll also be scaling partnerships within our organization's ecosystem.\n5. **Tooling:**\n - Expect top-notch developer experience with enhanced tools for BOS components and other elements of the ecosystem. We're working on out-of-the-box solutions, including AI, zk-SNARKs, multi-chain tools, chain abstraction, and more.\n6. **Regional DevRel Teams:**\n - We'll be launching regional Developer Relations teams in LATAM and Asia, nurturing regional certified developer programs, and fostering developer incentive programs.\n\nAs we look forward to the exciting year ahead, we invite you to join us on this transformative journey. Together we’ll strengthen the DevHub platform and build a hub where decentralized development knows no bounds.\n\n## Get Involved 🤩:\n\n1. **NEAR Campus:** Join us in empowering the next generation of developers through [NEAR Campus](https://near.social/devhub.near/widget/app?page=community&handle=near-campus&tab=about-us).\n2. **Host a Hackathon / Meetup:** Explore the possibilities of [Hackbox](https://near.org/hackbox.near/widget/home) and host your own NEAR meetup.\n3. **Contribute:** Share your ideas and proposals on the [DevHub Portal](https://near.social/devhub.near/widget/app?page=feed) and become a part of our vibrant community of innovators.","author":"Victor Kanu ","category":"guide"}