The Growing Demand for Rust Talent #
Since the first stable version of Rust was released in 2015, the language has experienced rapid growth due to its performance, security, and memory safety, making it an increasingly popular choice for developers and strategic organizations. The latest SlashData Developer Nation survey found Rust to be the fastest-growing programming language, doubling its users over the past two years. As Rust's adoption continues to accelerate, the demand for a multifaceted ecosystem of quality training will too.
The Value of Rust in Academia #
Rust learning resources come in many forms. Paid courses and bootcamps offer structured learning experiences, while free and open-source materials provide options for self-directed learners. Alongside these established channels, several teaching initiatives have emerged to help bring Rust into academic settings.
In this post, the Rust Foundation is excited to highlight several organizations and projects addressing the critical need for Rust training in academic settings. While these initiatives are just a few examples, they represent important steps in making Rust more accessible to students and educators.
Spotlight on Educational Initiatives #
Rust-Edu #
Rust-Edu operates as a non-profit through Portland State University, with funding from Futurewei. Their mission is to "spread Rust use and development through academic curricula and communities throughout the world, making Rust the language of choice for 'systems programming' in its broadest sense through shared efforts of faculty, students and the Rust community."
They focus on three main areas: curriculum development, educational tools, and language improvements. Their work with the Trifecta Tech Foundation's teach-rs project has helped develop embedded Rust programming materials. They're improving classroom tools by funding Professor Cyrus Omar and his students at the University of Michigan in their work on the RustViz annotation tool for Rust borrowing.
In 2022, Rust-Edu hosted its first Rust Education Workshop to share teaching techniques and practical applications, with a second planned for early 2025. They're also building an index of Rust education web resources and working with the Rust Embedded Working Group to improve documentation with a particular focus on the Rust Embedded Discovery Book.
Rust-Edu is currently led by Professor Bart Massey at Portland State University, with the assistance of Henk Oordt. Cassaundra Smith has supplied invaluable technical and organizational support alongside numerous other contributors who have helped advance Rust-Edu's mission.
If you want to help with Rust-Edu, join the Rust-Edu Zulip Community and message Bart Massey. For further information, visit the Rust-Edu website.
teach-rs #
teach-rs, pronounced "teachers," is a modular and reusable university course designed for in-person teaching in Rust. Its mission is to introduce Rust in higher education and ensure that more students enter the job market with considerable Rust experience.
The teach-rs project provides ready-to-use Rust teaching materials, including slide decks and exercises that can be adapted to various teaching contexts. While the current curriculum covers core Rust programming fundamentals, web development, and systems programming, the team is actively developing new content for embedded systems engineering.
The project's modular structure lets instructors create custom learning tracks for their specific needs. As an open source permissively licensed project, teach-rs enables educators to share and improve resources, making introducing Rust instruction into their programs more accessible.
Many institutions now use teach-rs in their courses, including the Slovak University of Technology, RustIEC (a collaboration between Vrije Universiteit Brussel and KU Leuven), and the University Politehnica of Bucharest. At the time of this writing, teach-rs has nearly 3000 stars on GitHub.
Teach-rs is a Trifecta Tech Foundation initiative maintained by engineers, Henk Oordt, Tamme Dittrich, and Marc Schoolderman. The project has received support from Rust-Edu in the past and continues to collaborate with Rust-Edu to improve and expand the course materials.
Those interested in learning more or contributing to teach-rs can visit the teach-rs matrix channel or the teach-rs GitHub repository.
A Guide To Implementing Rust In Your Curriculum #
Under the guidance of The Rust Foundation's Global Rust Coordinator and Rust Nation UK's organizer Ernest Kissiedu, Mordecai Etukudo (Mart) has developed a guide to help educational institutions adopt Rust in their systems. This resource walks organizations through the entire implementation process, from initial assessment to community engagement.
The guide addresses key phases of Rust adoption, including curriculum assessment, course content design, teaching resource development, faculty training, and community integration.
Designed to complement existing resources like Rust-Edu and teach-rs, this guide is a living document that welcomes contributions and improvements from the broader Rust community.
Growing the Rust Talent Pool Together #
The Rust Foundation is dedicated to ensuring a healthy Rust ecosystem, which depends on a growing pool of well-trained developers to thrive. The initiatives highlighted here show how our community is working to meet this need, creating new pathways for learning Rust.
As the Rust Foundation explores future training offerings, we look forward to following the evolution of projects like teach-rs, Rust-Edu, and Mordecai's Implementation Guide and their contributions to the ecosystem of Rust learning resources.
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