With so much attention on Bitcoin’s volatility, it can be easy to forget that blockchain technology offers much more than simply being the mechanism behind cryptocurrencies. One such application is to dramatically improve the way educational backgrounds are validated.
TrustED has launched a blockchain-based platform that allows academic credentials to be verified securely and instantly. This will enable leading educational institutions and graduates to store and authenticate grades, credentials, or certificates for employers.
The platform has already partnered with universities and schools in Australia, India, and Cyprus. These institutions will be able to upload and verify their accreditation to help employers transition from the lengthy and expensive manual verification processes. Open beta for the platform started on November 15th and full-scale release is planned for Q3 2019.
The verification process on TrustED will be free at first. However, a payment model will be applied once the mainnet launches as per the current roadmap.
“There are many examples where even the C-level staff were not completely honest about their diplomas,” said TrustED’s co-founder Kosta Batzavalis. “These and other unpleasant stories lead to the excessive bureaucratization of verification processes.
“TrustED uses advanced solutions in the field of blockchain,” Batzavalis continued. “Our main task is to increase trust between the academic community, business, and common people. Simplifying the process of verifying educational documents will allow teams to focus on tasks more important than paperwork.”
Hyperledger Fabric has implemented smart contracts to develop TrustED’s distributed network as well as provide functions with common building blocks that can be reused via Hyperledger’s modular architectural framework.
The TrustED Token (TED) will be based on the ERC20 standard, which is the standard used for smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. TrustED’s use of a native token on this platform means the application would be a hybrid system with interoperability between Hyperledger and Ethereum.
With nine partnerships in place, the academic credential verification service is already bringing convenience to the human resources and higher education. PDM University is one such beneficiary, a private university with more than ten different faculties and home to over 8000 new graduates every year, with whom TrustED has partnered TrustED.
“Pursuing innovations is an integral part of how we see the educational process in PDM,” said Chitresh Lather, the university’s CEO. “While it’s crucial for us to provide our students with a decent level of training, PDM team do their best ensuring that in the future, graduates not encounter obstacles in realizing gained potential. TrustED is a great example of technology being a perfect complement to education as a guarantee of a successful career.”
In addition to traditional higher education, TrustED can also provide verification for training certificates, ensuring qualification in more specialized fields. Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM), a European business school established in 1990, is one such institution.
“CIIM focuses on training top-level business professionals,” said Theo Mourouzis, a Course Coordinator at CIIM. We pay close attention to the accuracy of information that potential employers can get about our graduates. That is why the TrustED project fits perfectly into our vision of how information should flow between all parties of the educational process in the new century.”
Blockchain technology enables TrustED to offer immutability, meaning third parties cannot make any edits, changes or removals to the data. When an institution uploads the academic credentials of a student onto the platform, the verifying parties are ensured of the legitimacy.
The credentials issued by verified institutions are cryptographically secured and stored on TrustED’s distributed network. Additionally, credential holders can upload their credentials to the platform, which are eventually validated by the respective credential issuer.
Credential holders and graduates are also able to create an account on the platform and have access to their verified credentials at all times, while having complete control over the distribution of these credentials within the system. Those looking to verify credentials of an individual can do so in a matter of minutes by creating an account on the platform and requesting the same on the platform.
TrustED’s early partners were quick to realize the value at hand.
“The EdWay Training project became one of the first TrustED platform partners,” said Sergei Sergienko, founder of EdWay Training. “We train specialists in areas that require special knowledge and skills, and the TrustED solution helps both graduates and the employer to speed up the credentials verification process. This is one of those applications of blockchain technologies, that will simplify many complex processes in the life of society over time.”
Disclosure: This article includes a client of an ESPACIO portfolio company
