The Microscale Academy, public for the first time.
Hands-on engineering lessons, AI-graded assessments, and certifications that mean something to Nigerian employers. Three ways in: Product Development with Forge, certified engineering tracks (learn from the best free courses, certified by us), and an eight-part electronics ladder. Every cert is shareable, queryable, and connects directly into Forge Design when an exercise calls for it.
Start with Product Development with Forge — a public, hands-on path from your first circuit to a fully custom product. The electronics ladder (L0–L7) is open too.
How it works
Three-lane assessment
Every module ships with the assessment lanes its skill actually needs. K-Check (auto-graded MCQ) for knowledge. S-Check (AI plays the customer / supplier / scenario counterpart) for judgment. P-Check (photo / video evidence with manager sign-off) for physical work.
AI roleplay that grades you
The S-Check engine is two separate AI subsystems: one plays the counterpart in character, the other applies the rubric. They never see each other. This is the wedge — a better actor AND a better grader.
Certs that mean something
No completion percentages. Pass/fail per module with expiry. Shareable links (LinkedIn-ready), platform unlocks (e.g. order bulk LiFePO4 cells once L6 is passed), and chipset-maker co-branded certs from Phase 4.
Product Development with Forge
A hands-on path from your very first circuit to a fully custom product — learned by actually using Forge. No experience needed. Three levels, each ending in a shareable certificate.
- 1. BeginnerStart
Foundations
Beginner. The two halves of every electronic product — the circuit and the enclosure — and how to describe one in plain English and watch Forge build it. No experience needed.
Start the course - 2. Intermediate
Building from the Library
Intermediate. Assemble real products from Forge's library of proven building blocks — sensors, power paths, outputs, buses, and whole 3D designs — and learn how the blocks connect. Follows BWF1 Foundations.
Open level - 3. Advanced
Custom Design
Advanced. Go beyond the library: specify custom circuits from requirements, review and edit the wiring diagram with live ERC checks, export a real KiCad project, design fitted parametric enclosures, work with 3D-print manufacturing limits, iterate a real design as a copilot, and complete a capstone product end to end. Follows BWF2.
Open level
Certified engineering tracks
Learn from the best free courses on the web — we curate them, then test you on real, practical skill and certify what you can actually do. More tracks landing.
See your personalized path →Embedded Systems & Firmware
Program microcontrollers and connected devices — proven in Forge.
- Curated · external course
Embedded RTOS with FreeRTOS
Curated: learn how a real-time operating system lets one microcontroller juggle many jobs at once — tasks, scheduling, queues and semaphores — from a top free course, then prove it in Forge and get certified.
Open module - Curated · external course
ESP32 & IoT — WiFi, Sensors, Interfacing
Curated: master the ESP32's IoT surface — WiFi, connecting sensors, and the I2C/SPI/UART interfaces — from a top free video course, then prove it in Forge and earn your certificate as the second module of the Embedded track.
Open module - Curated · external course
Arduino & Embedded C — Fundamentals
Curated: learn embedded programming from a top free course, prove it in Forge, and get certified. The first module of the Embedded track.
Open module
Microprocessor Systems & Architecture
How a CPU really works — datapath, memory, buses, instruction execution.
- Curated · external course
SoC & Application Processors
Curated: step up from the basics to how a real System-on-Chip and its application processor (ARM Cortex-A class) actually work — what a SoC integrates, MCU vs MPU, the cache/memory hierarchy, pipelining, virtual memory and the MMU, and on-chip buses (AMBA/AXI) — from a top-rated free Princeton course, then go deeper on a real SoC and get certified. An intermediate module of the computer-architecture track.
Open module - Curated · external course
Microprocessor Systems & Computer Architecture
Curated: understand how a CPU actually works — the datapath, registers, ALU, buses, memory, the clock, and the fetch-decode-execute cycle — from the top free video series that builds a real 8-bit computer from scratch, then explore it hands-on in a free online CPU/assembly simulator and get certified. The first module of the computer-architecture track.
Open module
Embedded Linux & BSP
Linux on embedded hardware — shell, cross-compile, boot chain, Yocto/Buildroot.
- Curated · external course
Embedded Linux — Yocto, Device Tree & BSP
Curated: build a custom embedded Linux from scratch with the Yocto Project — layers, recipes and BitBake — then take it down to the board with device tree, the boot flow and a BSP. Intermediate follow-on to the embedded Linux fundamentals module.
Open module - Curated · external course
Embedded Linux — Fundamentals
Curated: learn the fundamentals of embedded Linux from a top free video series — the shell, cross-compilation, the boot chain, device tree, and build systems (Buildroot/Yocto) — then get certified.
Open module
Programming for Hardware
Python and the software skills every hardware engineer needs.
- Curated · external course
Embedded C/C++ for Microcontrollers
Curated: level up your embedded C/C++ from a top free university course, then prove you can reason about pointers, memory, hardware registers, and bit manipulation. The intermediate firmware module of the Embedded track.
Open module - Curated · external course
Python for Engineers — Fundamentals
Curated: learn Python programming from a top free course — variables, data structures, control flow, and functions — practice it live in a free in-browser Python environment, and get certified. The first module of the Programming track.
Open module
Analog Electronics
Op-amps, filters, and the analog signal path behind every sensor.
- Curated · external course
Analog — Precision & Low-Noise Design (Advanced)
Curated: master precision analog from the industry's top free classroom — offset, drift, noise, and driving data converters — then prove it in Forge and get certified. The advanced analog module, following active filters.
Open module - Curated · external course
Analog — Active Filters & Signal Conditioning
Curated: learn to design active op-amp filters and condition an analog signal — filtering, amplifying and anti-aliasing it before an ADC — from a top free series, then prove it in Forge and get certified. Builds on Analog Fundamentals.
Open module - Curated · external course
Analog Electronics — Op-Amps & Fundamentals
Curated: learn the op-amp and analog-signal fundamentals from a top free course, prove it in Forge, and get certified. The analog counterpart to the Embedded track — the part of a product that lives before the ADC.
Open module
Digital & Programmable Logic
Logic gates to Verilog — the digital foundation, including FPGA.
- Curated · external course
FPGA Design & Timing (Advanced)
Curated: go past writing RTL and learn how a design actually becomes fast, working hardware — FPGA architecture (LUTs/FFs/BRAM/DSP), the synthesis-to-place-and-route flow, static timing analysis and closing timing (setup/hold, clock skew, Fmax), pipelining for speed, clock-domain crossing, and a softcore-processor application — from the top-rated free FPGA course, practised in a free HDL simulator and free vendor tools, then certified. The advanced module of the FPGA/HDL track.
Open module - Curated · external course
Verilog & Testbenches — Intermediate
Curated: move from reading digital logic to writing it — real Verilog RTL with always blocks, blocking vs non-blocking assignment, finite state machines, and testbenches — from a top free video course, then practice in a free in-browser simulator and get certified. The second module of the FPGA/HDL track.
Open module - Curated · external course
Digital Logic & Intro to Verilog
Curated: learn digital logic from gates and truth tables up to flip-flops and state machines, and get started writing Verilog — from a top free video series — then practice in a free online HDL simulator and get certified. The first module of the FPGA/HDL track.
Open module
RF & Wireless
RF concepts and wireless links — from dBm to LoRa.
- Curated · external course
RF Circuit & PCB Design (Advanced)
Curated: design the RF front-end for real. From a top-rated free course you'll learn LNAs, mixers, RF filters and the layout rules that make (or break) a radio, plus an intro to SDR — then prove it in Forge and certify.
Open module - Curated · external course
RF — Antennas, Matching & Transmission Lines
Curated: learn how RF energy actually travels — down a transmission line, through a matching network, and off an antenna — from a top-rated free course, prove it in Forge, and get certified. Intermediate RF, building on the wireless fundamentals.
Open module - Curated · external course
RF & Wireless — Fundamentals
Curated: learn RF & wireless fundamentals from a top-rated free course, prove it in Forge by picking the right radio for a real device, and get certified. The wireless entry point of the Curated Engineering track.
Open module
PCB Design (KiCad)
Design real boards — schematic to fab output, proven in Forge.
- Curated · external course
PCB — High-Speed & EMC (Advanced)
Curated: the advanced high-speed track. Learn controlled impedance, return paths, reference planes, crosstalk, termination and EMC from the field's most-watched free talk, prove it in Forge, and get certified.
Open module - Curated · external course
PCB Layout & DFM — Intermediate
Curated: go past 'it routes' to 'it works and it's manufacturable'. A top free layout tutorial takes a real multi-layer board through stackup, ground planes, routing, and fab output — then you prove the instinct in Forge and get certified. Builds on KiCad fundamentals.
Open module - Curated · external course
PCB Design with KiCad — Fundamentals
Curated: learn to design real boards in KiCad from a top free course, connect it to a Forge design, and get certified. The first module of the PCB track.
Open module
Power Electronics
Regulators, converters, batteries, and solar — the power behind every product.
- Curated · external course
Motor Drives & Control
Curated: learn how a microcontroller actually drives a motor — the driver, the H-bridge for direction, and PWM for speed — from a top free course, then prove it in Forge and get certified. Extends the Power track from static loads to spinning ones.
Open module - Curated · external course
Solar Power Systems — Design & Sizing
Curated: learn to design and size a small off-grid solar system from a top free course, then prove it by speccing one in Forge.
Open module - Curated · external course
Power Electronics — Fundamentals
Curated: learn how products get power — regulators, converters, batteries, and solar — from a free course, prove it in Forge, and get certified. The first module of the Power track.
Open module
CAD & Mechanical
Model enclosures and parts — proven in the Forge 3D designer.
- Curated · external course
FreeCAD — Parametric 3D CAD Fundamentals
Curated: learn parametric 3D CAD in FreeCAD — the leading free, open-source CAD — from the community's most-recommended free beginner course, then prove your understanding in a short technical viva with a senior engineer and get certified. A fundamentals entry point of the CAD & Mechanical track.
Open module - Curated · external course
CAD — DFM, Tolerances & GD&T (Advanced)
Curated: learn to design parts that actually manufacture — wall thickness, draft, and clearances for moulding and 3D printing, tolerance stack-up, and the GD&T that pins it all down. Study a top free course, prove it in Forge, and get certified.
Open module - Curated · external course
Fusion 360 — Assemblies & Design Intent
Curated: level up from single parts to multi-part assemblies. Learn components, joints, and parametric design intent from a top free course, then prove it by designing a real two-part enclosure in Forge and get certified. The second module of the CAD track.
Open module - Curated · external course
3D CAD with Fusion 360 — Fundamentals
Curated: learn parametric 3D CAD in Fusion 360 from the most popular free beginner course, prove it by generating a fitted enclosure in Forge's 3D part designer, and get certified. The first module of the CAD track.
Open module
3D Printing & Fabrication
FDM from first print to functional parts — proven in Forge.
- Curated · external course
3D Printing — Functional Parts, Resin & Post-Processing (Advanced)
Curated & advanced: go beyond first prints to parts that must hold up. Learn to choose FDM vs resin (SLA/MSLA), design for real tolerances and strength, and post-process (wash, cure, finish) so the part performs. Prove it in Forge and get certified.
Open module - Curated · external course
3D Printing — Materials, Calibration & Functional Parts
Curated (intermediate): go past 'it printed' to 'it holds'. Learn to pick the right filament (PLA / PETG / ABS / TPU), calibrate your machine (flow, temperature, retraction), and orient and fill a part so it survives real load — then prove it in Forge.
Open module - Curated · external course
3D Printing (FDM) — Fundamentals
Curated: learn how FDM 3D printing really works — from a top free course — then prove it by designing a printable part in Forge and get certified. The first module of the 3D printing track.
Open module
Electronics fundamentals
An eight-part ladder from first principles to embedded systems. Take them in order, or jump to the group you need.
Foundations & Components
The physics, then the physical building blocks every circuit is made of.
- P3
Pre-electronics Fundamentals
SI units and prefixes. Schematic symbols and datasheet reading. ESD and lab safety. Through-hole soldering basics, including the perfboard header lab that gates the rest of the technical ladder.
Open module - P3
Passive Components
Resistors, capacitors, and inductors — what they do, how to read their values, how to choose them, and the practical circuits they appear in. The second rung of the Technical Ladder, building on L0 fundamentals.
Open module - P3
Diodes & Transistors
The first active components: diodes (one-way valves) and transistors (electronic switches + amplifiers). What they do, how to use them, and the everyday circuits — rectifiers, flyback protection, transistor switches — they make possible.
Open module
Digital & Embedded
Logic, microcontrollers, and getting parts to talk to each other.
- P3
Digital Electronics & Logic
The binary world: HIGH and LOW, logic levels, logic gates and truth tables, and the digital concepts (clocks, registers, the move from analog to digital) that the microcontroller lives in.
Open module - P3
Microcontrollers
The programmable chip that ties it all together: what a microcontroller is, GPIO pins (digital + analog + PWM), how to read inputs and drive outputs, and the ESP32 vs Arduino choices. The capstone of foundational electronics.
Open module - P3
Interfacing & Communication
How microcontrollers talk to sensors, displays, and each other. The three workhorse digital protocols — UART, SPI, and I²C — plus analog interfacing (ADC/DAC) and how to choose the right bus for a job. The bridge between L4's microcontroller and the real components it controls.
Open module
Power & Instrumentation
Powering a product, and measuring what it actually does.
- P3
Power Systems & Solar
The deep dive into power: energy vs power, battery chemistry (why LiFePO4 for Nigeria), charging and regulation, solar panels and sizing, and the complete architecture of a solar generator. The technical heart of solar power systems, grounded in real Nigerian operating conditions.
Open module - P3
Test & Measurement Equipment
The instruments that let you see what a circuit is actually doing: the multimeter, the bench power supply, the oscilloscope, the logic analyzer, and the signal generator. How each works, what it measures, the traps to avoid, and which tool to reach for — the foundation of every real diagnosis.
Open module