The Interledger Community 🌱: Andrew Mangle

Bowie State University Partnership Grant '23 — ILF Grant Final Report

Andrew Mangle — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:55:44 +0000

Brief Project Description

Bowie State University’s Interledger Foundation Partnership Grant ’23 built an HBCU-centered pathway that moves students from awareness to engagement in open payments and digital financial inclusion. Across workshops, course modules, weekly “ILP Pizza & Me” meetups, FinTech $prints/hackathon-style sprints, and conference/hackathon travel, we engaged 700+ students across four continents. BSU expanded beyond campus by partnering with and introducing Interledger-aligned programming to other HBCUs, thereby strengthening student confidence, portfolio artifacts, mentorship, and networks, while also growing the broader Interledger ecosystem.

BSU had three major pivots (Intial Pivot, Second Pivot, Third Pivot). Students and Interledger change and grow. As the project progressed (and extended beyond the original timeline), our model matured into a multi-campus engagement fulfilled. We evolved the model because we observed that students persisted and grew in confidence and opportunity when engagement transitioned from isolated workshops to a pathway, and that pathway became far more powerful once multiple HBCUs joined and reinforced the same momentum.

Bowie State University elevated our collective efforts to the next level by reaching out to other HBCUs and collaborating on events.

Interledger on campus expanded to Austin, TX (Huston-Tillotson University), Atlanta, GA (Clark Atlanta, Spelman College, Morehouse College), and Fayetteville State University (Fayetteville, NC)
Collaborated with other HBCUs with Fintech and Open Payments, including Morgan State University, North Carolina A and T, and Fayetteville State University
Innovative programming including he Open Payments Hack on Rails event between BSU and Fayetteville State University
Traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, with a student to participate in the Interledger Hackathon at the University of Cape Town
Various workshops on topics including Rafiki, Interledger Wallets, and open payments
Weekly ILP Pizza and Me events where students would learn about current events, active ILP projects, and engaging activities, including playing the prototype Stairs and Spirals: The Financial Journey game.

Project Update

At the core of this grant, BSU sets out to recruit and lead HBCU students to opportunities in open payments and digital financial inclusion. The grant focused on raising awareness and supporting HBCUs in helping their students with digital finance. BSU's efforts, led by the College of Business, empowered students to become active participants, builders, and future leaders in the broader Interledger ecosystem.

Initially centered around BSU students raising awareness and skills efforts through workshops, course modules, and microinternships, we learned to leverage the strength of the HBCU network. The highest impacts occur when HBCUs come together, and we brought Interledger-aligned activities directly to other campuses using BSU as a hub for convening, continuity, and mentorship. The key pivot was bringing the early successes at BSU to other HBCUs. Bringing Interledger to campus strengthens students, HBCUs, and the community.

BSU is not working alone and would not have made an impact without the support and guidance of the community. Early course and program phases were crucial in building community and reinforcing a message that students need to hear repeatedly: you belong, your voice is needed now, and you can do it (self-efficacy). Our next step is to provide better resources to the HBCU network and beyond, meeting students where they are, helping them move forward, and offering mentorship and leadership to support their continued progress.

We (not just BSU - but us) are making this happen. By combining real-world learning, community immersion, and supporting resources, we are helping the underrepresented and the underbanked. BSU appreciates the guidance and support.

Project Impact & Target Audience(s)

The intended impact of this project was to broaden who participates in (and ultimately shapes) open payments and helps digital financial inclusion by creating practical, repeatable pathways that move HBCU students from awareness → skill-building → contribution, and career opportunity. The grants' outputs directly support the Interledger Foundation’s mission to broaden the diversity of voices in the tech ecosystem using ILP as a driver for digital financial inclusion and align with our grant plan to recruit, connect, and develop HBCU students involved in open payments, digital financial inclusion, and underserved communities.

Actual impact and who benefits

Primary direct beneficiaries: Over 700 HBCU students (BSU + partner HBCUs) who gained exposure, skills, mentorship, and confidence through facilitated pathways (courses, workshops, micro-internships, events, travel/community immersion, and conferences).

Secondary beneficiaries: the Interledger ecosystem and partners, who benefit from a larger, more diverse contributor pipeline and increased awareness of ILP/open payments across multiple campuses, plus repeatable engagement models and public-facing resources (progress report and community posts).

Longer-term beneficiaries: underbanked and underserved communities, as the project’s focus on digital financial inclusion and open payments talent development strengthens the workforce and ideas needed to build more accessible financial infrastructure.

Indirect and attributed impacts: The Open Payments Hack on Rails event between BSU and Fayetteville State University resulted in a partnership between the two institutions. The event initially sent seven students and two faculty to participate, leading to the first FSU FinTech event, which opened doors for new presentations and engagements, and ultimately brought us to this year, where four BSU students earned third place out of six in what I believe is the MIS department’s first-ever business case competition.

Let me also take a moment to recognize the diverse talent pipelines that BSU is bringing into the Fintech space. The business case competition team consisted of a first-generation student from El Salvador, a single mother, an African American male majoring in IT, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

The visibility is great, but what really matters is the network and opportunity that Interledger has unlocked for our students. Through your support, we’ve been able to connect students not just to FinTech but to a growing ecosystem of learning and collaboration.

We’re seeing real momentum building in opportunities. None of this would have happened without Interledger’s support.

Student Reflection and Impact

Learning about the underbanked through Interledger has been life-changing, opening my eyes to how finance can be used as a tool for inclusion rather than exclusion. From programs like ILP Pizza and Me to hands-on projects like TreasuryConnect, I’ve gained both technical knowledge of open payments and real-world experience that continue to shape my academic journey, professional opportunities, and entrepreneurial vision. Most importantly, this work has inspired me to build a legacy of financial access, creating pathways for others to achieve opportunities that once felt impossible.

-Tomisin Laniyi (BSU Undergraduate – Business Administration Major) [Interledger Scholar, Interledger Summit 2023 Participant, Interledger Hack on Rails Participant]

Due to my family’s background of emigrating to the US from a small rural village in Nigeria. I observed how the lack of access to banks compelled people to rely on informal systems for saving and borrowing, which shaped my perspective on the importance of financial inclusion. Learning about the underbanked made me realize that financial tools are not privileges but essential lifelines that bring stability. Learning and working with open payments technologies has shown me how digital systems can remove barriers and create opportunities, allowing even small transactions to flow securely across borders. It gave me a vision of financial freedom that does not depend on location or traditional institutions. Learning about digital financial inclusion has impacted me personally by wanting me to assist and fix the struggles of my own community back in Nigeria, academically by giving my finance studies a deeper purpose, and professionally by inspiring me to pursue a career that bridges people and systems.

-Chimeziri Onyewu (BSU Undergraduate – Finance Major) [ILP Pizza and Me, BSU Fintech $print Participant]

Progress on Objectives, Key Activities

Over the course of the Bowie State University Partnership Grant ’23 (Feb 7, 2023 – Dec 22, 2025), our work evolved from a primarily course- and project-based effort into a repeatable, multi-campus engagement model designed to move HBCU students from awareness to action in open payments and digital financial inclusion. We combined academic on-ramps (course modules and structured learning) with engagement mechanisms, including micro-internships, weekly community meetups, hands-on sprints/hackathon-style activities, and conference/community participation, to build student confidence, portfolios, and networks. As we learned about the actions that sustained participation, we shifted away from relying on student-led clubs and toward facilitator-led pathways and partnerships across HBCUs, utilizing the BSU as a convening hub to scale impact and share resources, lessons learned, and public outputs with the broader Interledger ecosystem.

Objective 1 — Revise BUIS 400 - Special Topics to require contributions to open-source/open-protocol communities

What we did: Launched and delivered BUIS 400 to orient students to open protocols, distributed collaboration, and GitHub-based contribution workflows.

How it evolved / why: Course-based contributions remained a strong on-ramp with focused effort, but we learned that students persist more when coursework is reinforced by ongoing community and events using a pathway model.

Outputs (examples): Student GitHub participation and project exploration.

Objective 2 — Update BUIS 463 - Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship to encourage leading with empathy, customer discovery, and engagement opportunities

What we did: Continued evolving BUIS 463 content to better connect web participation to real-world opportunities and ecosystem engagement.

How it evolved / why: Rather than positioning this course trajectory as a prep for grant for the web proposals, we reframed it as an entrepreneurial thinking course with a focus on underrepresented populations, which builds skills, confidence, and a portfolio for underserved communities. This approach resonated strongly with students.

Outputs: Course learning materials/assignments.

Objective 3 — Support student contributions to open protocols (ongoing)

What we did: Implemented mentoring + support structures, paired students with projects and community resources, and used micro-internships as an always-open onramp.

How it evolved / why: Student demand favored practical, hands-on experiences and clearer “what to do next” steps. This pushed us toward facilitated pathways, micro-internships, and sprints over one-off workshops.

Outputs (public):
“Community-based micro-internships”: https://community.interledger.org/andrewmangle/community-based-micro-internships-e1k

“Connecting students”: https://community.interledger.org/andrewmangle/connecting-students-239l

Objective 4 — Support development of open protocol clubs

What we did: Initially, we planned student-led clubs as a key mechanism.

How it evolved / why: We deliberately shifted away from student-led clubs as the primary vehicle because clubs were less effective post-pandemic; students faced competing priorities, and sustaining club participation was challenging.

Replacement activities (better fit): Weekly facilitated meetups (“ILP Pizza & Me”), workshops, curated sprints, and travel-based community engagement that produced stronger continuity and outcomes.

Objective 5 — Build partnerships/alliances with HBCUs and aligned organizations

What we did: Expanded activity beyond BSU by taking Interledger-aligned engagement to other campuses and collaborating with peer HBCUs (e.g., multi-campus events, joint engagements). This aligns with the proposal’s partnership objective.

How it evolved / why: We validated that growth required visiting students (multi-campus model), rather than asking students to self-organize and come to a single hub.

Outputs: Fintech $prints and conference attendance

Objective 6 — Submit a larger collaborative NSF grant with ILF + HBCU collaborators

What we did: Initiated conversations and laid the groundwork for collaboration as proposed.

How it evolved / why: As the scope shifted toward facilitated pathways and practical experiences, effort concentrated on building a repeatable operating model and partner network first (so a future NSF submission is stronger and more evidence-based).

Outputs: Collaboration groundwork (planning notes, partner conversations), and a smaller NSF grant led by ILF was submitted

Objective 7 — Send students to the 2023 Interledger Summit

What we did: Summit participation and conference-based community engagement became a high-impact lever for recruitment, confidence, and network-building—consistent with the original plan.

How it evolved / why: Travel proved to be one of the strongest “conversion points” from engagement to a deeper commitment, so we preserved and expanded this approach within the revised scope.

Outputs: Public reporting links were maintained in ILF documentation, including the progress report link below. Students attended the 2023 and 2025 Interledger Summit.

Objective 8 — Launch an incubator for contributors/communities/technologies

What we did: Began incubator planning as the original “hub” concept.

How it evolved / why: The “incubator” function effectively became a facilitated pathway + mentorship + event engine (curated experiences, micro-internships, workshops, and sprints), because that structure was more feasible and produced better engagement than formal club-based incubation.

Outputs: Pathway series and community posts (see Objective 3 outputs).

Objective 9 — Create student fellowships/scholars

What we did: Fellowship/scholar-style support shifted toward smaller stipends, targeted student support, and experience-driven engagement (micro-internships, sprints, travel). This matched student motivations and improved participation.

Outputs: Micro-internship model and Student Scholars (3) (see Objective 3 outputs).

Communications and Marketing

What’s Next?

This grant confirmed that the model is effective. The next phase involves scaling it through asynchronous, global onboarding materials (gathering existing and creating new resources), a stronger information architecture for learning, and a badge system that recognizes and incentivizes meaningful projects so students and community members have the context and pathways needed to become contributors. We're seeking mentors and strategic partners to help scale our programming, especially HBCUs and organizations willing to co-host events. We'll bring BSU to YOU!

Connect with more HBCUs by engaging with faculty advocates and students with BSU serving as the digital financial inclusion and open payment launchpad and accelerator
Form alliances with organizations aligned with digital financial inclusion, open web payments, and inclusive systems
Create the resources and pathways that empower to students to contribute by offering training, structure, pathways, and mentorship
Strengthen multi-year sustainability by strengthening partnerships and accessible resources

Community Support

Bowie State University, the College of Business, its students, and I are grateful to the Interledger Foundation team for their bold and future-focused approach to community building, particularly the intentional and growing inclusion of HBCUs as part of the long-term ecosystem strengthening.

Additional Comments

If you think a student, faculty member, or HBCU would benefit from this work, please connect with me here or on LinkedIn

We're excited to share resources, lessons learned, and replicate successes! :)

BSU Students Thank You For Your Vote

Andrew Mangle — Sat, 10 May 2025 16:32:29 +0000

Bowie State University wrapped up an exciting and inspiring FinTech $print event, supported by our ongoing collaboration with the Interledger community. During this event, student teams explored innovative ways to leverage the Interledger Protocol (ILP) to enhance digital financial inclusion and provide accessible financial solutions for underserved populations. Using the Design Thinking model, students focused on the underbanked and digital financial inclusion. Participants led with empathy, sought to define the challenges of financial inclusion, and produced three refined ideas.

This event is part of a broader commitment that Bowie State University has made with Interledger, continuing an extensive list of impactful activities such as the Interledger Summits in New Orleans and Costa Rica, Microinternships, Hack on Rails at FSU, Interledger Scholars Program, weekly ILP Pizza and Me gatherings, the UCT Hackathon in South Africa, and the Interledger Summit in Mexico City. These initiatives collectively align with Interledger's global strategy to support digital financial research and development in vulnerable communities, fund innovative solutions for underrepresented populations, foster a transformative ecosystem in payments, and enrich talent pipelines with diverse perspectives. We are enthusiastic about expanding these valuable experiences to other campuses in Fall 2025.

The event was helpful for students to better understand the need for digital financial inclusion. For those new to the space or who want to better understand the underbanked in the U.S. and how alternative banking solutions are used, I recommend two videos - Details how millions lack access to financial services & Explains the logic (gap) behind pay day lenders

We're thrilled to share the compelling student projects that emerged from the event. Your opinion matters to us, and we greatly appreciate your vote on the project you believe holds the most potential. The grand prize was being awarded to the team that got the most votes from the Interledger community.

Below are the summaries of each team's project:

Team 1: KinFund

KinFund targets newly arrived migrants facing systemic barriers to traditional banking in the U.S. It provides an intuitive, multilingual interface enabling users to securely receive funds, manage digital payments, and build a transaction history using ILP—without needing a traditional bank account or Social Security number. KinFund helps users establish a verifiable financial identity, offering tools to pay rent, save for vehicles, and apply for housing, ultimately fostering long-term financial stability.

Team 2: FlexCard

FlexCard Bill Pay addresses challenges faced by cash-dependent domestic workers, such as high transaction fees and limited access to online services. Users receive a physical, PIN-protected card, reloadable via multilingual kiosks accepting cash deposits. The card facilitates fee-free bill payments and digital money management without needing a smartphone or formal identification. Users can convert various forms of value (e.g., completing surveys or exchanging gift cards) into usable funds through ILP integration, supporting financial inclusion and autonomy for underbanked communities.

Team 3: ShadowBank

Shadow Bank aims to create a point-of-sale system functioning similarly to a "buy now, pay later" service specifically tailored for underbanked individuals. It provides immediate access to funds for essential expenses, such as bills, while implementing a reward-based system for timely repayments. This project introduces a small, fixed fee rather than interest-based lending, ensuring it remains fair and accessible. The Shadow Bank operates as an innovative mutual-fund-style entity leveraging ILP to enhance global financial accessibility.

Drum roll please... The winner is... Team 2: Flexcard

Thank you for your continued support!

Open Payments Pathways - Opportunities

Andrew Mangle — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:06:20 +0000

Let's dive deeper into the state of open payment jobs.

A common misconception in Open Payments is that you must be in IT or Finance to contribute. These are not required areas of expertise. If we look at the list of firms leading digital financial inclusion, technology & fiance are often listed as job openings, but so are research, marketing, communications, and community development.

Compared to the overall job market, IT and finance are more heavily weighted, with community development and research being other areas of interest. IT and research opportunities appear to be more focused on the platform leveraged by the open payments firm. If you want to learn about particular niches, consider exploring each posting in= detail.

The current job postings seek various expertise, including internships, entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level. I think you will have to know someone for an executive position:D. Salary ranges vary among postings and employers. Two interesting themes emerge from the postings - remote and global opportunities & an emphasis on open-source and community development.

Many job opportunities offer remote work, which makes sense as global communities require people to work and collaborate across borders. The expectation is that teams will continue to operate decentralized with opportunities for team events like the Interledge Summit.

There is still a demand for IT professionals, but other opportunities exist for those interested in global community development for open payments, open protocols, and digital financial inclusion. Employers appreciate remote work for great flexibility and an expanded global talent pool. Employees and community members can collaborate using technologies such as Interledger Slack. Potential employees and employers can ask questions, contribute to open-source projects, and share ideas.

Open payments offer diverse opportunities for individuals with varying experience levels and skill sets.

There's a place for you here, and we all benefit from an engaged community! An open web and digital financial inclusion can be more than just an interest; it can be a fulfilling career.

Here's the third post challenge:

How well does your existing experience align with the open payments community?
Where do you get started? (For Interledger, head over to the slack, check out the Interledger Summits [they are available on YouTube])

Open Payments Pathways - The Goal

Andrew Mangle — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:38:29 +0000

The goal of the effort is to get participants (students and readers) actively engaged with open payments, develop the skills and competencies in FinTech, network with others in the community, and land a position at one of the employers in the space.

The program supports skill development, networking, and collaboration – not part-time employment, internships, or grants. The pathways program is meant to support those who want to help achieve the goals of digital financial inclusion and are seeking a paid role.

In today’s competitive job market, a narrow focus, a supportive team, and intentional learning can offer an advantage to the applicant. While resumes and social media are helpful, the best strategy continues to be who you know and who knows you. The Open Payways Program is meant to connect students with employers with the skills and knowledge for impact.

Beyond Interledger, other groups support digital financial inclusion and open payments. Below are just a few to get started - no specific order:

Element - https://element.io/
Mozilla - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/
Cloud Native Computing Foundation - https://www.cncf.io/ (Supporting projects - https://www.cncf.io/projects/)
Block - https://block.xyz/
Interledger - https://interledger.org/
Mojaloop - https://mojaloop.io/
Thistaworks - https://www.thitsaworks.com/
Ant Global - https://www.antglobal.com/
Infitx - https://www.infitx.com/
Accion - https://accion.org
Digital Alliance Impact - https://dial.global/
Digital Public Goods - https://www.digitalpublicgoods.net/
GSMA - https://www.gsma.com/
Aptivate - http://www.aptivate.org/

The good news is that most seem to be hiring :)

If you are someone you know is looking for a new role, I encourage you to share the list above. Positions range from technical to non-technical, supervisory to non-supervisory, volunteer to career, and entry to senior level.

Here's the second post challenge:

Consider how you could fit in with the open payments, open web, and digital financial inclusion ecosystem.
Review some of the sites above and look for areas of interest. What are the experiences the firms want from an employee?
Perhaps create a mindmap or visualization of how each organization is positioned to succeed

Open Payments Pathways

Andrew Mangle — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 19:20:46 +0000

For the first half of 2025, Bowie State University will lead an initiative to get students and community members the skills, knowledge, connections, and mindset to obtain jobs supporting open payments that aid digital financial inclusion by aggregating materials and offering mentorship. We are recruiting major and class-standing agnostic students across campus at Maryland's oldest HBCU. This effort continues to grow the scope of impact from classroom to college to campus-wide to globally inclusive participation. Using the community-interledger.org posts, we aim to share the pathways process beyond the campus to other HBCUs. We hope the community contributions will encourage ramping to open payments to different universities and lifelong learners.

The 15-week+ pathways series is meant to help progress anyone from interest to contributor. This big, audacious goal builds upon successful efforts at Bowie State and in the Interledger / ILF community. Reflecting upon past and current work, I could not be more proud of my efforts at and beyond BSU. I'm enthusiastically serving as an ambassador and mentor for students seeking to make a difference in FinTech and an open web.

We continue to build a more inclusive financial system by providing tools that offer everyone the chance to join, knowledge, mentorship to grow, and the opportunity to build a career.

If you are here reading this post, you are in a great spot!

Here's the first week's challenge -

What is the mission and vision for interledger.org?
Consider how many ways a 1 (Euro, Rand, Dollar, Yen) can be sent to someone in another country. (Hint: ILP, Western Union, PayPal, Ripple (XRP), Venmo, Pix, FedNow, UPI, Twint, Bitcoin/Ethereum, Check, SWIFT) What are the costs - time, energy, security, transaction fees? (F I recommend creating a table to better under the various options)
How are open payments different than closed payments? (Visa / Western Union)
Check out some of the past work - https://community.interledger.org/andrewmangle

Higher Education Tips for Academia

Andrew Mangle — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 16:43:03 +0000

When it's summer, academics often forget the value of planning for the upcoming semester. Perhaps you stumbled upon this post, looking for tips on engaging students and past successes. Are you checking out how Interledger can work with you? Maybe you are looking for funding to support student success. Anyway - I'm glad you are here :). I want to share some of the insider tips.

My goal for the post is to help academics submit their applications for the NextGen Higher Education Grant (https://interledger.org/education). I want to offer some forward-thinking initiatives that have worked at Bowie State University to engage students on digital financial literacy, inclusion, and open payment systems. Although these are not copy and paste, you'll have a starter kit and a partner (--> this guy <--) for collaborations!

1) PIZZA and Interledger - It's a simple and tested method to bring students and Interledger together. You are breaking bread (well crust) with students exploring the challenges of the un and underbanked communities over a slice of cheezy goodness. The event can align with a course, meeting, or event. Some workshops that have done wonders were related to Rafiki wallet creation, Interledger introduction, and Digitial Financial Inclusion. Short but engaging 60 to 90-minute events that are inclusive to all students, majors, class students, and community.

2) Course Modules - Interledger's mission of open payments, open-source, sustainable development, and multi-disciplinary fintech space needs a breadth of participants. Are you not in the tech domain - great! Are you in the tech domain - great! You are welcome and we want to encourage students to participate in shaping the future of digital finance. Modules can be a single class or span multiple weeks. Set an outcome and develop the materials to help students achieve the goal. The Interledger community has resources to support the module development - check out others who have helped with content monetization, creating supporting narratives through art and podcasts, and those who are taking others directly to those adversely affected by non-inclusive technology and banking.

3) Guest Speakers - Bring fintech experts to your campus, virtually or in person. Find someone to share their experiences and insights with students, clubs, faculty, and administrators. Want someone building digital wallets? Is someone working with banking clearing houses? Is someone shaping policy? Someone working with an underserved community? Someone working with community development? Is someone actively developing software? A FinTech entrepreneur? I know a person, and they are in the Interledger community.

4) Mini-hackathons - This might still be one (PIZZA) :) Hackathons can be daunting, but what about a four-hour intentional focus on a particular challenge in Fintech? Consider connecting the unbanked careers in open payments, perhaps cross-border payments, or micropayments. Use the time to create buzz and excitement. These activities empower and recognize students to foster innovation and creativity in the space. This is where great ideas are born.

5) Microinternships - Connect students with the Interledger community directly. Students often struggle to fit into an open-source community. Pair your students with an Interledger community member. Partner with Bowie State University, and we can bridge multiple campuses. We have report formats, prompts, and a supporting structure to help students find their own.

6) Scholars / Microscholars - Students can work independently, tackling challenges such as advancing the Interledger protocol, sustainable development, and career opportunities. Students can explore research, too. The scholars are aligned with the Interledger mission and focused on moving the community forward.

8) Collaborations - Hack on Rails - I skipped seven. Did you catch it :) After a successful collaboration with Fayetteville State University, Bowie State University wants to connect with more institutions on a collaborative challenge. Hint: check above. With the support of Amtrak, we want to continue to connect with other institutions through experiential learning on digital financial inclusion. What's better than one school's efforts - two! Craft a collaboration with another campus - locally, nationally, or globally.

9) Advising for Pitch Competitions - Mentor students in their entrepreneurial ventures in developing value propositions for the un/underbanked and the un/underconnected. Strive to get students to be grant recipients and creators. Student mentorship and guidance can go a long way by extending the classroom and building lifelong friendships.

10) Career Pathways - Another way to help students see their fit in Fintech is sharing career pathways with students - internships, externships, collaborative projects, and jobs. Showcase the benefits of studying and contributing to advancing inclusive digital financial systems through talent pipelines.

Now, that was a lot, and there's more! Did you think I'd share everything :D. Let's connect on Interledger's Slack!

Check the comments below, as I expect others are going to help you too - supporting others is the Interledger way :)

Micro Internships are BACK!

Andrew Mangle — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 21:26:44 +0000

Greetings, fellow community members!

The Micro Internships are BACK from January 29 - May 10, 2024! Bowie State University (BSU's) is trying to make this the largest cohort of participants!

Following the success of the micro-internships in the summer of 2023, thanks to your efforts and key contributors, including @gfam @helenatude @jasperv @patrickrahy, we are once again going to open a pathway from community collaborations and student contributions.

Last year, over 20 students participated in the program focusing on enhancing skills in UI/UX, Project Management, Software Engineering, research, and digital finance. This year, we're looking to expand the reach and impact even further by going beyond BSU's campus - @carolyn_malachi (I'm thinking about Howard University Students) and ideally global (hint: Cape Town this message is for you too :))

If we spoke at the summit, expect a direct message (hint hint @tani and @uchibeke) seeking to find win-win real-world experiences on impactful projects with community members, project teams, and champions. These projects offer a chance to work on various projects chosen by Interledger Community entities that help build inclusive and open solutions.

I've reached out to 1200 undergraduate and graduate students who want experience in the open web, open payments, cross-boarder asset exchanges, and general interest in supporting digital finance and inclusivity regardless of major and are eager to learn and contribute. The only requirement for application is that students complete a simple form that shares information about Interledger and outlines potential opportunities to match students (https://forms.office.com/r/ucSYr1Zpvt).

How can you help?

People and businesses who have a micro internship in mind. I'd love to tell you more and support you. We are looking for projects that perhaps you want a different perspective, one that you've been wanting to do but don't have time, or you just want to mentor students. We can work together to refine any idea, and I'll be there to support the onboarding and mentoring of students
Community members who have ideas of impact. How can students help build the community? What projects could benefit from a little love an attention?
Students looking to explore open payments, open web, and open protocols who want to support underbanked as well as working with historically marginalized groups. Regardless of your abilities, if you want to help, we want you to feel welcome and supported.

Let's make the Spring 2024 Microinternships bigger, bolder, and more impactful!

Bowie State University Partnership Grant '23 — ILF Grant Progress Report

Andrew Mangle — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 17:36:00 +0000

Brief Project Description

The vision is to engage more students at HBCUs in open protocols by expanding our program to include coursework, micro internships, supporting resources, mentorship, community engagement, and foster collaboration. This expansion includes student engagement, forming partnerships with HBCUs and other organizations, encouraging community support for students, and supporting student contributions to open protocols. The project developing talent, leadership, and coordination to establish a self-sustaining pipeline among the HBCU community along with under-represented talent that offers various interests, capabilities, and perspectives.

Project Update

Achievements

Spring 2023 saw the successful initiation of a small undergraduate Special Topics (BUIS 400) course focused on open-source and open-protocols with the goal of students contributing to the Interledger Protocol and the community as a whole. The students were proactive in participating through GitHub, actively committing to a project, and exploring a range of open-source, open-protocol, and Interledger projects.

On the graduate side, the project sponsored two students with their practicum project (INS 788) by studying and advancing the Interledger Protocol. They used XPRING services (https://wallet.ilpv4.dev/account/login) to construct a functioning GUI prototype using a low code solution, updated their code on a public GitHub, and provided comprehensive documentation on the prototype. Their significant achievement lies in testing the conversion between XRP, ETH, and USD. Their low-code GUI offered a user-friendly interface that allowed users to access the Interledger testnet, fund their wallets, and easily create a wallet account. Unique to their prototype, wallet accounts could be created using a unique username instead of GitHub as well as exchange other digital assets.

In the summer of 2023, the focus shifted to micro-internships and pairing students with Interledger-based projects. Through outreach during Spring 2023, 22 students signed up to participate in Micro-Internships. There was a concerted effort to enhance student skills in UI/UX, Project Management, Software Engineering including requirements gather and development, as well as digital communication while providing services to the Interledger community. Students were given the opportunity to select from a list of projects aggregated from the foundation, Kult, AgnostiPay, and gFam.live as well as research open-soruce and open-protocol projects including the Solid Project (https://solidproject.org/).

Challenges

There continues to be challenges re-engaging students and faculty post global pandemic. While originally presented as a project to build student clubs across organizations has become less effective and significant events on campus (not related to Interledger) have not been drawing students. This trend, as reported by BSU and other campuses as well as the Chronicle of Higher Education, presented an obstacle.

Proposed Path Forward

The proposed path forward included restructuring the approach from student-driven to sponsor-driven. The sponsor-driven approach is intentional recruitment and development versus student, if serendipitous, creation. Students were connected with the Interledger community and supporting collaboration on an individual level through emails, direct messages, and cross-group communication. The next step was arranging student collaboration on projects - starting separately and pulling together through iteration. The new strategy aimed to cater to students higher interests in jobs, internships, and capabilities development which has already show to be a driving force for their active involvement. The micro-internship movement created a roadmap for further recruitment at BSU and beyond. The opportunity is to use micro-internships as always open onramps for individuals to support the Interledger community regardless of semester or institution. Furthermore, we hope to expand to offer fellowships for students who are interested and able to expand the scope of their interests.

Project Impact & Target Audiences

Objective 1 - Revision of a course to require a contribution to open source communities

The BUIS 400 course curriculum was revised to make contributing to open-source communities a requisite for students. This involved restructuring course materials, providing tutorials and sessions on GitHub, and guiding students to actively participate in open-source projects. This has been successful with several students actively committing to projects. Completed Spring 2023

Objective 2: Update a course to encourage grants for web participation (BUIS 463)

BUIS 463 course is being revised to introduce content that encouraged students to apply for and leverage grants to boost their participation on the web. As part of eCommerce, students will be provided with resources and guidance to see opportunities to contribute to an open web. Fall 2023

Objective 3: Supporting student contributions to open protocols

We have implemented mentoring and support structures to assist students in understanding and contributing to open protocols using the Interledger Community resources. The students have been paired with projects, members of the Interledger community, and provided with resources, tutorials, and tasks to help them understand open protocols. On-going

Objective 4: Supporting the development of open protocol clubs

We have initiated plans for open protocol clubs to foster a community of enthusiastic students interested in open protocols. Given the general downturn in club activities across campuses, we have had to rethink our approach. As a solution, we are focusing more on individual collaboration and engagement with the Interledger community before setting up such clubs. On-going

Objective 5: Building partnerships and alliances [HBCUs and other aligned organizations]

We have reached out to other HBCUs and organizations to foster alliances and partnerships. These collaborations have helped build relationships that will help recruit more students into our project and have given us a broader base of support. On-going

Objective 6: Submitting a more significant collaborative grant with ILF, other HBCUs, and collaborators to NSF

We have initiated conversations and collaborations with the ILF, other HBCUs, and collaborators to compile and submit a more significant grant proposal to the NSF. The grant will aim to fund further student involvement in the Interledger project to build open-source ecosystems to harness the power of opens-source development Fall 2023

Objective 7: Sending students to the 2023 Interledger Summit

We are planning to send up to 10 participants to the 2023 Interledger Summit. The summit will provide an excellent opportunity for students to learn, network, and get more involved in the Interledger community Fall 2023

Objective 8: Launching an incubator for open protocol contributors, communities, and technologies

The launch of an incubator is still in its planning stages. This incubator will provide a supportive environment for students, contributors, and the broader community to collaborate, learn, and develop innovative solutions related to open protocols. The aim is to establish an ecosystem that fosters creativity, inclusivity, and active participation in open-source projects. Potentially Spring 2024

Proposed Additional Objective 9 - Creation of three student fellowships

Initiate the establishment of three distinct fellowships that support the Interledger community and protocol. These fellowships, focused on community development, protocol development, and a third area yet to be decided, represent an opportunity for students to dive deeper into the respective subjects and apply their knowledge in practical ways. Potentially Fall 2023

Communications and Marketing

There have been two community posts that discuss the microinternship work during Summer 2023:

What’s Next?

Moving forward, the project will continue to enhance the BUIS 463 course to enhance open-source contributions and web participation, with a greater emphasis on practical applications and grant opportunities. We will persist in our micro-internship program, matching students with Interledger community members for real-world learning experiences. Plans are underway to facilitate a group of students' travel to the next Interledger Summit, offering a unique opportunity for learning and networking. Outreach will be a key focus, aiming to attract more students, faculty, and institutions to our project to expand its reach and impact. Finally, we will finalize and open applications for our three student fellowships in community development, protocol development, and a third area, providing our students with specialized opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the Interledger community.

Community Support

We want to grow the opportunities for others to contribute to the community and the microinternship model is resonating with those who want to help.

We are looking for MORE projects that be started today. We have two examples to follow: 1) from Adam at gFam.live
(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MQD59WIK-K2hebanC3ELdc-t3awxybEMryqdo6nq38s/view) 2) from Jasper at AgnostiPay (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tWpa7F2REWHI_YInYl75cb2O8AXu8jswhg_p6QJNL_8/edit?usp=sharing)

Additional Comments

The project is a community effort. The success of the project is only achievable through the support of the Interledger Foundation, Kult, AgnostiPay, and gFam.live. We would love to have your participate with project ideas or mentorships. Check our channel in slack #ilf-microinternships!

Connecting Students

Andrew Mangle — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 19:42:28 +0000

The Micro-internships have started! How can BSU students support you and your project?

Undergraduate and Graduate students are starting or continuing their journey with Interledger. They are joining Slack, reviewing GitHub, and are members of this site.

There are currently 21 students who answered the call to support and engage this summer with Interledger innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators. We continue to actively recruiting more and are seeking to expand to other campuses.

Students have expressed interest in helping with Social Media, UI/UX, Project Management, Protocol Development, Community Development, and Research.

Perhaps you know someone who might be interested in contributing or maybe you are that someone :). Here are the resources, Bowie State University is using to help onboard more people to the space:

What is Interledger? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGVuBV6kO94
State of Interledger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSO_ZBBuE6k
Interledger Foundation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sus3KXuA6g0
May 2023's Interledger Community Call - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id3ysc4P9Cs
Interledger’s GitHub - https://github.com/interledger

Please comment below additional resources that you think would help others get up to speed on Interledger.

I hope you'll join our slack channel #ilf-microinternships. Students would appreciate the opportunity to connect with you, support your journey, and grow together.

Community-based Micro-internships

Andrew Mangle — Fri, 19 May 2023 15:37:33 +0000

At Bowie State University, through the support of the Interledger Foundation, we are launching a micro-internship summer program for students to collaborate with the Interledger Community and open-protocols.

At this time, we have eleven interested students who are seeking a variety of opportunities - technical and non-technical. Opportunities include research into the Solid Project, UI/UX design, community development, translation services, and interledger protocol contributions (analysis, development, and support).

Kindly let us know, by completing this Google Form, if your project/company would be interested in participating in this opportunity.

There is no expectation of pay to students - they are looking for experience, impact, and knowledge through practical and applied projects. Students come from a variety of backgrounds so the opportunities should be a broad.

I look forward to sharing with the community throughout the summer by highlighting impactful projects and students success.

HBCU Course Grant 2022 — Final Grant Report

Andrew Mangle — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:46:34 +0000

Project Update

The project update highlights a highly-successful course at Bowie State University in Fall 2022. The course included multiple Interledger Community Members serving as experts and workshop leaders, including @micopeia, @carolyn_malachi, @karlitosn, @kokayi, and @briana, offering messages of engagement, inclusivity, and support for HBCU students. In addition, course materials with supporting assignments and projects introduced students to Interledger through open web payments, web monetization, micropayments and tipping, cross-border payments, web3 (web 3.0), and interoperability.

Since March 2022, BSU (andrewmangle) with @julaireh and @chrislarry, focused the course on introducing and supporting HBCU students for immersion into the Interledger community. All students used Coil to tip content providers and explore Coil-enabled projects using the Uphold wallet. As part of the grant, ILF funded students and faculty to travel and attend the #summit (https://interledger.org/summit/) in November 2022.

In my 20+ years in academia as a student and faculty member, this grant offered THE BEST experience for students - materials, community support, and funded student travel. Out of the nine students who attended, I want to highlight a few achievements resulting directly from this grant:

Based on the student's global digital payments knowledge, an undergraduate student is starting at Northrup Grumman in January 2023.
An undergraduate student is starting an IT Auditing Position based on their knowledge of open payments architecture and eCommerce
A graduate student and Dr. Andrew Mangle published a preliminary analysis on the Interledger Protocol and Web3.
An undergraduate student is actively exploring and engaged with the Interledger Community (and a student who did not attend is also participating)
An undergraduate student actively explores opportunities in a niche combination of Human Resources and micro-payments through the Interledger Community.

These are just a few of the students who benefited from this grant. We look forward to the long-term benefits of engaged HBCU students.

The project may have concluded, and there is HUGE momentum for expansion, such as a special topics course in Spring 2023 focused on supporting students to contribute to the Interledger Protocol.

Progress on objectives

The grant achieved the primary objective of improving awareness of financial access and discrepancies in opportunities. Specific topics included equity and inclusion for financial markets and highlighted the need for HBCU graduates to participate and lead in digital finance. Through the speakers, course materials, and summit attendance, the course helped build confidence that the students can have the capability to ease these challenges, and their contribution is a necessary component of more equitable commerce through financial inclusion. The course provided resources and a pathway for Bowie State University students that access unclear and murky markets.

Key activities

The course impacted eighteen undergraduate and one graduate student.
Seven guest speakers - Five Interledger Community Members included the Executive Director, BSU's Assistant Director for Media Relations and Marketing, and BSU's Student Experience Coordinator.
One poster and proceedings contribution collaboration at the National Association of Business, Economics, and Technology (nabet.us) conference in October 2022
Five student posters at the Interledger Summit 2022
One workshop and panel at the Interledger Summit 2022
One complete course in Fall 2023 and one additional planned for Spring 2023

Communications and marketing

What’s next?

The HBCU grant was just the start. The goal is to gather more HBCUs to participate and share the materials from this course with others looking to replicate the success. The course artifacts are a foundation - pre/post assessment, challenges, tutorials, and pathways to Interledger participation. The project has just started with a successful proof of concept. Growth through networking, inclusion, and expansion is next.

The path is clear 1) Connect with more HBCUs for interested faculty and students using BSU as an exemplar 2) Form alliances with organizations with similar goals in digital literacy, open web payments, and global equity & inclusivity 3) Empower young adults to contribute to Interledger and related open-source projects 4) Seek funding with the Interledger Foundation for long-term sustainability and viability.

What community support would benefit your project?

The project needs 1) mentors and 2) strategic partners. Mentors are required for students and others new to the community who would benefit from a guide to ease the introduction and offer a supportive and encouraging message that emphasizes that HBCU students are needed now and have all the skills necessary to participate and contribute NOW. Strategic partners are essential to support the project, share successes, and expansion. In particular, documented letters of support are necessary for partnering with multi-year and multi-million dollar federally funded efforts.

Additional comments

As Executive Director, Briana intentionally included HBCUs as part of the Interledger Foundation's innovative and progressive approach to community development and future-building. ILF and Dr. Andrew Mangle. took a leap of faith together through a shared vision and collaboration. The team worked together to explore, learn, and refine over several months. Weekly meetings provided touch points, resource sharing, and perspective on how to engage and impact students. The summary report scratches the surface of the students and faculty's persistence and perseverance.

We want to share our success and resources. If you think someone - students, faculty, or HBCU would benefit from this project, please connect with me here or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-mangle. We will gladly share our resources :)

Relevant links/resources (optional)

Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.