Neo News Today has distributed US $8,000 in grants to two student groups as a part of Neo’s October Decoding Web3 US Campus Tour. Students could apply for grants to start a project on the Neo N3 blockchain. The grant allocations were generated through rewards earned by NNT’s position on the Neo Council.
NNT aimed to incentivize students seeking Web3 industry experience to build a project on Neo. The opportunity was available to all students, regardless of whether their university was a stop on Neo’s tour.
Aside from a requirement that projects be built on Neo, there were no restrictions on project types. Still, proposals were requested to have a realistic scope incorporating the balance of building a new project with student-level workloads.
The NNT team acknowledged that the microgrants wouldn’t be enough to launch full-fledged dApps or applications, but were instead intended to welcome students interested in building their first Web3 project. In the student grant announcement, NNT said:
We are aware of how difficult it can be for students to balance their studies, finances, and following their passion. If our grants help pay for a new laptop, or allow a student to take a few less weekend shifts to make time for pursuing a passion project on Neo, it will be money well spent.
The two grants were distributed to four-person teams: FanGarde from the University of Colorado – Boulder and Brownie.gg from the University of Victoria.
FanGarde
FanGarde is a ticketing platform aimed at eliminating issues associated with inauthentic tickets, non-transparent systems, relentless scalping, and untraceable tickets within the secondary market. The project will issue tickets as NFTs on the Neo blockchain to instill trust that event-goers own the tickets to grant entrance.
The team is comprised of students and members of the CU Blockchain Club:
- Leo Nguyen (CU Blockchain Club President, studying integrated design engineering with a minor in computer science)
- Jack Hau (studying computer science with a minor in creative technology and design, and philosophy)
- David Banda (studying computer science)
- Mark Haley (studying computer science and pre-law)
The FanGarde team stated its intent to create value for artists by increasing confidence that their tickets are scam-free and secure. The app will be aimed at accurately collecting ticket transaction data and enforcing rules on handling tickets on the secondary market. The FanGarde team plans to incorporate Neo through smart contracts, NFTs, and by utilizing the NeoNS domain name service.
The ticketing process will leverage smart contracts to enforce the terms and conditions of accessing the event. Additionally, a FanGarde ticket distributor can set price floors and limits for selling on the secondary market, determine when tickets are sold, and define how the tickets are sold.
Each ticket will be represented as a unique NFT that grants access to the event and serves as a digital collectible and proof of attendance.
FanGarde intends to explore using NeoNS by establishing a central wallet identity that distributes tickets following the initial sale of NFTs. The team believes the end-user will have a smoother experience receiving their tickets from a trusted name instead of a generic wallet address. At the time of press, the team has acquired the FanGarde.neo domain.
The team has also performed extensive outreach with local schools and music venues. FanGarde has two clients who have expressed interest in using the platform – a local high school for sporting events and a local brewery for music events. The FanGarde team estimates that it will generate and distribute approximately 25,000 NFTs annually for the high school client alone.
Looking forward, FanGarde intends to complete an MVP of its user interface in Q1 2023 and integrate blockchain into the application’s back-end in Q2 2023.
FanGarde was awarded an NNT microgrant of $4,000.
Brownie.gg
Brownie.gg is a platform that will support eSport players and host eSport events, inspired by start.gg. The team aims to build Neo’s first eSports platform to compete in an industry estimated to attract an audience of more than 577 million enthusiasts by 2024.
The Brownie.gg platform will automate creating “Brownie Points,” which will determine a player’s projected rankings for upcoming events. Additionally, the Brownie.gg platform will integrate a side-betting feature, allowing users to place wagers on the outcome of matches using the forthcoming FUSD stablecoin.
The team comprises computer science students from the University of Victoria, each with varying experience in eSports, blockchain development, and web and mobile applications. The Brownie.gg team includes:
- Chris Colomb
- Maika Rabenitas
- Nima Mohajeri
- Yeil Park
The application will create a new wallet on the Neo blockchain for each user that registers for the platform. Each new user will have full access to their private keys at the onset.
Once the side-betting function is added to the platform, users can view odds associated with match participants and bet on potential winners. Funds staked for betting will be distributed accordingly:
- 85% to the winner’s side of the gamble
- 10% to the player being bet on
- 5% to support the development and maintenance of Brownie.gg
Upon release, the Brownie.gg team intends to offer support for Super Smash Bros Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. In later versions of the platform, the development team aims to add more games and features based on community and user feedback.
Brownie.gg was awarded an NNT microgrant of $4,000.
About The Author: Dylan Grabowski
Dylan is a reformed urban planner with a passion for covering the Neo ecosystem. His objective as a writer for Neo News Today is to report news in an objective, fact-based, non-sensational manner. When not behind a computer screen, he can be found in the mountains rock climbing. Find Dylan on Twitter (@GrabowskiDylan).
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