Skills

First Three Projects Shipped (Beginner to Public App)

5 milestones · 16 weeks

Write, run, and ship your first Python programs — from a terminal hello-world to a deployed web app that real strangers can use.

Build and Deploy Your First Web App

5 milestones · 12 weeks

Build a complete web application — frontend, backend, and deployed to a public URL — that real strangers can use without any instructions from you.

Build Your First Website

3 milestones · 8 weeks

Build a real webpage using HTML and CSS and publish it at a live URL. It can be a personal page, a fan site, or a project showcase — what matters is that you made it and someone else can load it in a browser. Free hosting on GitHub Pages or Netlify works perfectly.

Spectroscopic Data Interpretation

0 milestones · 6 weeks

Interpret real spectroscopic data — NMR (¹H, ¹³C, or DEPT), IR, or mass spectrometry — for a specific named compound. Document the reasoning for every peak assignment: chemical shift interpretation and multiplicity analysis (NMR), functional group identification (IR), or fragmentation pattern (MS). The proof is the annotated spectrum with documented reasoning for each assignment, a proposed or confirmed structure, and a written comparison to reference values. For students without lab access, authenticated spectra from SDBS (Spectral Database for Organic Compounds — free) or NIST Chemistry WebBook (free) are accepted — the interpretation methodology and documentation requirements are identical to lab-acquired data. Reviewed by a chemist who provides an unseen spectrum during the review session and asks you to assign it in real time — the live assignment is required to confirm you understand the methodology, not just the reference data.

Neuroscience Systematic Literature Review

0 milestones · 10 weeks

Conduct a systematic review of primary neuroscience literature on a specific named research question using PRISMA methodology: document your database search strategy (PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library — all with free access), specify inclusion and exclusion criteria with rationale, extract data using a documented extraction table, and synthesise findings with a conclusion about the state of evidence. The proof is the completed PRISMA-format review document including the flowchart, extraction table, and synthesis section identifying agreements, contradictions, and gaps in the evidence base. This step is fully accessible — PubMed and PubMed Central are free; bioRxiv and Google Scholar provide additional coverage. Reviewed by a neuroscientist who challenges your exclusion decisions — specifically, why you excluded a named study that appears to meet your stated criteria — and asks about the quality of the evidence in a specific included study.

Mass and Energy Balance

0 milestones · 6 weeks

Perform a complete mass and energy balance for a real or representative chemical process, demonstrating conservation of mass and energy across each unit operation and the overall system. The balance must include: a process description identifying all feed streams, products, by-products, and waste streams, a mass balance table with inlet and outlet flows for all components (in consistent units) demonstrating closure within 1% or documenting any unaccounted losses, an energy balance covering the major energy inputs and outputs (heat of reaction, heat exchange, pump or compressor work) with documented thermodynamic data sources, and a stream summary table presenting all stream compositions, flowrates, temperatures, and pressures. Preferred proof: a mass and energy balance for a real industrial process using professional process simulation software. Accessible alternative: DWSIM (free, open-source chemical process simulator for Windows, Mac, and Linux) — simulation input file submitted alongside the results; OR a complete hand calculation for a simplified 2-3 unit process with documented data sources (NIST Chemistry WebBook for thermodynamic data — free). Proof artifacts: the process flowsheet with stream data (design artifact) and the balance tables demonstrating mass and energy closure (analysis artifact). Verification: a process engineer reviews the energy balance — 'your heat exchanger duty — what driving temperature difference are you assuming, and is that physically achievable given your stream temperatures?' — requiring you to reason from your own streams.

Chemical Engineering Design Report

0 milestones · 8 weeks

Produce a complete chemical engineering design report for a real or representative process engineering problem, integrating process concept, mass and energy balance, equipment design, and safety analysis into a single coherent document. The report must include: a process description with a PFD and stream data summary, a mass and energy balance summary demonstrating process closure, design calculations for at least one major piece of equipment (reactor, heat exchanger, column, or vessel), a process safety summary identifying the top 3 hazard scenarios and their safeguards, and an economic feasibility note (order-of-magnitude capital and operating cost estimates with documented basis). Preferred proof: a design report for a real process engineering project. Accessible alternative: a comprehensive report using DWSIM for process simulation with free data sources (NIST WebBook for thermodynamics; open process engineering case studies for reference design basis). Proof artifacts: the PFD and equipment design (design artifact), the mass/energy balance and safety analysis (analysis artifact), and the complete design report (documentation artifact). Verification: a chemical engineer reviews the safety summary — 'you identified toxic release as the top hazard; what is the barrier between the release source and the site boundary, and is that barrier active or passive?' — requiring specific reasoning about your own process design.

Digital Graphic Design Campaign

0 milestones · 8 weeks

Graphic design campaign responding to a brief across multiple digital and print formats. Triad: concept/ideation artifact (campaign concept document: target audience rationale, visual language decisions, colour and type strategy, brief interpretation — demonstrating that the creative direction is brief-driven, not arbitrary), technical execution artifact (production-ready campaign files delivered across minimum 3 formats — social media post, web banner, and print collateral — all correctly sized and specified for their platforms), critique/documentation artifact (brief response document: annotated mapping of each design decision to a brief objective, showing how the visual language serves the communication goals). Studio critique: creative director or senior graphic designer reviews the campaign against the brief objectives at a documented crit session — the crit explores whether the design communicates the right message to the right audience, not just whether it looks considered. Proof: brief, campaign files (all formats), brief response document, critique notes. Verifier: creative director or senior graphic designer.

Photography Portfolio Review

0 milestones · 12 weeks

Professional photography portfolio presenting minimum 20 images across at least 2 distinct photographic genres or projects, reviewed by a working professional. Triad: concept/ideation artifact (curatorial rationale: why these images in this sequence, what the portfolio communicates about the photographer's identity, visual voice, and professional positioning), technical execution artifact (portfolio of minimum 20 images at print-ready or web-optimised quality — technically clean, correctly exposed, and professionally retouched or edited), documentation/critique artifact (written project notes for each series or project in the portfolio: intent or brief, technical approach, editorial decisions, and what each project demonstrates about the photographer's range and capabilities). Studio critique: working professional photographer (minimum 3 years commercial practice) conducts a documented portfolio review with written feedback on technical quality, creative voice, commercial readiness, and professional positioning — the written feedback is submitted as proof. Proof: portfolio (print PDF or web portfolio link), project notes, documented critique feedback. Verifier: working professional photographer (minimum 3 years commercial practice) — no peer-only verification.

Film Post-Production

0 milestones · 10 weeks

Completed edited film sequence with colour grade and sound mix delivered to broadcast or festival standard. Triad: technical execution artifact (finished cut — minimum 2 minutes — with colour grade applied and sound mixed: dialogue clearly audible and balanced, music bed at appropriate level for dialogue, sound effects present where relevant, and overall mix appropriate for the intended output medium — cinema, web, or broadcast), documentation/critique artifact (post-production decisions log: edit structure rationale — what was cut, what was kept, and the pacing decisions; colour grade intent with reference images — what look is being achieved and why; sound design choices and their narrative or emotional purpose), concept/ideation artifact (post-production brief: the tonal, emotional, and pacing objectives the post-production process was designed to achieve — the document that guided all editorial decisions). Proof Accessibility Rule applies: DaVinci Resolve free tier provides professional-grade editing, colour grading, and audio mixing in one application — no paid software required for this outcome. Studio critique: professional film editor, colourist, or film school tutor reviews the finished cut and post-production decisions. Proof: post-production brief, finished cut (video link), post-production decisions log, critique notes. Verifier: professional film editor or colourist, or film school tutor.