Introducing the EPF Study Group

The Ethereum Protocol Fellowship (EPF) is a program designed to reduce the barrier to entry for developers interested in working on the core protocol. As core developer (and EPF creator) Piper Merriam likes to say, the door is comically wide open. EPF helps you walk through it.

Over the past two cohorts, one of the most frequent request we’ve received from applicants & participants was for better onboarding materials. Josh and Mario, the coordinators of the EPF, are excited to announce the launch of the EPF study group (EPFsg): a 10 week education series intended as a precursor to the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship (the fifth cohort is coming ). EPFsg has been designed to guide and grow the next generation of Ethereum core developers and provide a deep understanding of Ethereum’s internal mechanics.

Bridging the Gap

Understanding the Ethereum protocol is a complex, but important, endeavor. The study group aims to bridge the gap by offering a curriculum focused on all parts of the Ethereum stack & roadmap.

Ethereum Protocol Studies Program Overview

Program Details

The EPF study group is a live webinar-style program, consisting of two phases. The first phase, which will consist of one 90 minute class per week, will be focused on a general overview of the underlying structure of Ethereum. In the latter phase, students will choose between the research or development tracks (or both). Each track will have its own weekly 90 minute class and will be a deep dive into the chosen topic.

During the study group, students will gain a better understanding of Ethereum’s core protocol, diving into topics that include:

Protocol design
Execution and Consensus layer architecture, specs, and implementations
Testing methods and tools
Current research and roadmap items:
- Verkle trees
- Sharding
- MEV
- Proof of stake improvements
- State and history expiry

Each online session will be led by current core dev and researchers from various client teams and research groups, come with pre-meeting reading materials to get you familiar with the topic and terminology and post-meeting activities to strengthen and solidify your understanding.

Additionally, students will collaboratively develop a comprehensive wiki, serving as an evolving knowledge base for current and future core developers. This will provide students with practical experience in contributing to open source resources, while gaining invaluable experience in documentation and community-driven development.

Who is Protocol Studies for?

While this program is designed to act as a precursor to the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship, this study group is for anyone that is interested in learning more about the inner workings of the Ethereum Protocol. Those that have general knowledge or use of Ethereum and/or blockchains as well as those that have some computer science, technical, or developer experience will get the most from this program.

— Josh Davis & Mario Havel | EPF Coordination