# Empower Web3 Education and Innovation

By [Mask Network](https://paragraph.com/@masknetwork) · 2026-03-30

---

* * *

#### About

Established in 2023, Mask Network Academy is the non-profit arm of Mask Network, providing funding, donations, and technological collaboration to leading universities and journalism programs worldwide, with the goal of promoting Web3 research and storytelling.

#### Founder

Suji Yan is the Founder and CEO of Mask Network and the Bonfire Union fund. He studied computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and left university at the age of 20 to launch the Mask Network protocol in 2017. Since then, it has become a key player in the decentralized social ecosystem. A strong advocate for community empowerment and Web3 education, Suji has made substantial contributions to leading universities and institutions — including UIUC, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, UC Berkeley, and Yale-China — in support of Web3 research and journalism.

#### Curator

Nancy Wu leads the non-profit Academy at Mask Network. She is a veteran journalist who has worked at leading international media outlets, including _The Wall Street Journal_ and _South China Morning Post_, with a focus on the tech industry. In 2016, she transitioned into media entrepreneurship and co-founded two startups covering prominent tech unicorns and emerging entrepreneurs. Nancy is an alumna of UC Berkeley and Harvard University.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8efd5bb304150ef24318e63abe6b80293c4b1dc93d61ae0f0431132e79c1f777.png)

Official news: [Medium](https://masknetwork.medium.com/mask-networks-non-profit-achieves-1-5-230766904c01)

* * *

#### Donations

1.  **April 2024, donation to _HKUST Crypto Fintech Lab_**
    

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d1d37bc9f7e2a4c086d668242f5dccd88af88117ae0c024376a9747cae0ee487.png)

**Official news**

*   [HKUST](https://giving.hkust.edu.hk/tc/donation_news_detail.php?id=138&pre=y)
    
*   [Mask Medium](https://masknetwork.medium.com/mask-network-academy-supports-the-hkust-crypto-fintech-lab-by-donating-mask-as-its-1st-80c1b623b486)
    

**Media coverage:**

*   [Techflow](https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/newsletter/44778)
    
*   [PANews](https://www.panewslab.com/zh/articledetails/a19uu5at.html)
    
*   [Daily](https://www.odaily.news/newsflash/362378)
    
*   [Binance News](https://www.binance.com/zh-CN/square/post/2024-04-03-mask-network-5-mask-6263664032441)
    

  

2\. November 2023, donation to **_the_ _non-profit Mastodon_**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c716c491df8bd457049da8b793190d4a31306d4626e2df73abd80c9152453dff.png)

**Blog:** [Mastodon CFO](https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/11/thank-you-sujitech/)

**Official news:** [Mask Medium](https://masknetwork.medium.com/why-we-are-backing-mastodon-and-the-future-of-decentralized-social-dde0aab4ec46)

  

3\. December 2023, donations to **_Fu Jen Catholic University_**

**Official news:** [Storm Media](https://today.line.me/tw/v3/article/GglqgOL)

  

4\. July 2024, donation to **t_he UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism_**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e7e78cdbbc69cb4f01b91575cf5cc322e80582ba3c0c63488d0a22f128d4839c.png)

**Official news:** [UC Berkeley Journalism](https://journalism.berkeley.edu/future-tech-class/)

  

**5\. _In support of 3-year Yale-China Arts Residensy_**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3aab075cd078b847360a30dfa1f2cecbaadb5c425c2983702fa4d09641f9e0d4.png)

**Official news:** [Yale-China Association](https://www.yalechina.org/artist-residency-2025)

  

6\. Sept 17 2024, donation to **the _Media Economies Design Lab (MEDLab) at CU Boulder_**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/24bb626c749792ccbd57a9c939a7441dc6726e0d52a8617cb155af0aee5801ed.png)

**Official news:** [MEDLab](https://www.colorado.edu/lab/medlab/2024/09/17/medlab-partners-mask-network-academy-launch-open-social-incubator)

* * *

### Partnerships

1.  February, 2024 MOU signed, **_Korea University Blockchain Research Institute_**
    

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8e965e33f64f8707c497e3f5f05094d2c392ad874865873db5f69e0b8656bc7e.png)

**Media Coverage:**

*   [Yonhap News Agency](https://news.einfomax.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=4305316)
    
*   [Token Post](https://www.tokenpost.kr/news/cryptocurrency/172016)
    
*   [CoinNess](https://coinness.com/news/1091224?id=1091224)

---

*Originally published on [Mask Network](https://paragraph.com/@masknetwork/empower-web3-education-and-innovation)*