feat: update 126 - tlu 2.0 (#197)

Announcing the launch of TLU 2.0

_updates/2024-01-17-update-126.md

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+---
+layout: update
+tag: Developer Update
+date: 2024-01-10
+author: CjS77   
+thumbnail: new_tlu_bg.webp
+title: Introducing TLU 2.0
+subtitle: Tarilabs University gets a fresh new look, new courses and updated tutorials. 
+class: subpage
+---
+
+We [launched] Tarilabs University (TLU) way back in 2019 to help developers learn how to build on Tari. 
+Initially, the idea was for Tarilabs engineers to do a deep dive on a topic and then present a seminar to the 
+community. The report, and/or slides, would then be published on TLU for anyone to read.
+
+![The original TLU website](/assets/updates/img/tlu_1.0.webp)
+
+We gave TLU a fresh new look and feel in early 2022, which broadly kept the same content with a modern 
+navigation paradigm, a look that has persisted until today.
+
+## Tarilabs university 2.0
+
+![TLU 2.0](/assets/updates/img/new_tlu.webp)
+
+Today we're launching [TLU] 2.0, which is a complete overhaul of the site. All the original content is still there,
+but we've added a loads more curated content to help fill the knowledge gaps between "curious developer" and 
+"fully-armed blockchain engineer".
+
+### What is new?
+
+#### Courses
+We've arranged much of the content into [courses]. Each course collects a variety of learning sources together, 
+ including, for the first time, videos, as well as the traditional reports and slide decks. The content follows a 
+progression to build towards achieving a concrete set of learning goals.
+
+For example, the [Introduction to blockchain](https://tlu.tarilabs.com/intro-to-blockchain/) course assumes you have 
+almost no prior knowledge of blockchain technology, and presents several videos and articles, culminating in an 
+annotated reading of the Bitcoin white paper.
+
+#### Tari Tutorials
+
+We've finally gotten around to updating [Tari Rustpen](https://rustpen.tari.com) with the latest Tari cryptography 
+libraries. This means that all of the interactive tutorials in the [Cryptography 101](https://tlu.tarilabs.com/cryptography-101/)
+course are using the same elliptic curve and cryptographic libraries that are running on the base nodes.
+
+These are live, interactive tutorials. You can run the code, edit it, and see how the results change. Give it a go, 
+it's quite fun.
+
+[![TLU interactive tutorials](/assets/updates/img/tlu_tutorial.webp)](https://tlu.tarilabs.com/cryptography-101/)
+
+#### Category tags
+
+We've also added category tags to all the modules on TLU, so you can easily find related content. If you're not 
+interested in following the curated learning paths offered by the courses and want to dive straight into all topics 
+related to [mining](https://tlu.tarilabs.com/mining/), for example, then you can do just that.
+
+#### Searching
+
+There's a local index to search through all the content on TLU. We've also gotten TariBot to work an extra shift on 
+TLU (for no extra pay) to help you answer your questions or to "ELI5" some of the topics that get too deep in the 
+weeds.
+
+#### Self-assessment tests
+
+Each course also has a short self-assessment test, which you can use to check your understanding of the material, or,
+use it as a hyper-summary of the course content. It's up to you.
+
+![Studying hard](/assets/updates/img/student.webp)
+
+### What is the same?
+
+#### Community-driven content
+
+TLU is still a community-driven project. We're always open to accepting new content that matches the ethos of the 
+Tari Project. If you have an idea for a course, or a tutorial, or a blog post, or a video, or anything else that you
+think would be a good fit for TLU, then please submit a [PR].
+
+If you have better self-assessment questions for the courses, then please submit a [PR].
+
+If you wish to add additional interactive tutorials to Tari Rustpen, then please submit a [PR].
+
+If you find an inaccuracy, or want to improve any of the content, then, say it with me: submit a [PR].
+
+### What's next?
+
+Once we launch mainnet and focus our attention on bringing privacy-oriented smart contracts to life, we will be 
+attracting a fresh cohort of developers to the Tari ecosystem. We will need to supplement TLU with all the concepts 
+needed to make the RFC documents accessible, and to equip developers to contribute their own RFCs and source code.
+
+![Looking ahead](/assets/updates/img/tlu2.webp)
+
+Topics that are of interest for the next batch of TLU courses include:
+
+* Zero-knowledge proving systems,
+* Zero-knowledge roll-ups,
+* Full homomorphic encryption,
+* DeFi market mechanisms and incentives,
+* Cerberus for dummies
+* My first Tari contract
+
+It's going to be a wild 2024!
+
+[courses]: https://tlu.tarilabs.com/courses "TLU courses"
+[launched]: http://web.archive.org/web/20190725163900/https://tlu.tarilabs.com/
+[PR]: https://github.com/tari-labs/tari-university/pulls "TLU pull requests"
+[TLU]: https://tlu.tarilabs.com "Tarilabs university homepage"