Blockchain technology in education

In all of the world’s developed countries, the field of education is a central focus. This is due to the fact that the future of other important areas, including science, medicine, agriculture, industry and almost all others, is dependent on the country’s education levels.

Not only private but also many state educational institutions are either getting ready to implement blockchain-based tools, or they are conducting research which will enable the strengths and weaknesses of implementing blockchain technology in education to be identified.

Blockchain Replaces Paper

Paper-based higher education diplomas, school certificates, and extra training course certificates get lost and the original can be lost over time. Once put in the blockchain, the information about a student’s grades and the courses that have been undertaken will not get lost, and it is impossible to change or falsify the information. At the same time, one can easily access this information with the owner’s consent.

Putting information about education into blockchain will remove doubt for employers about an employee’s level of knowledge. Using blockchain technology for storing information about one’s level of education will make faking a diploma impossible. It is effective because it will solve the problem of low qualification levels of doctors, lawyers, engineers, economists and other popular occupations for which a formal education is required.

A database can be established, which will include a person’s skills, courses or training which have been completed and lectures which have been attended. Thanks to this database, employers will be able to obtain and filter information about an employee’s knowledge quickly and easily, with no doubt as to its relevance or reliability.

Financing education and blockchain

Cryptocurrencies and financial services are the most obvious and popular uses for blockchain technology. The prospects for introducing blockchain into the education sector include not only the development of separate, narrowly targeted solutions, but also the adjustment of cryptocurrencies for use in educational institutions.

Financial accounting is a very important component in the work of schools, universities and other educational institutions. Blockchain technology will improve the system for calculating scholarships for students and salaries for teachers, and will provide a transparent and fair mechanism for funding grants and projects.

Uses and Prospects

The most forward-looking educational institutions have already embarked on improving the sphere, enabled by modern technologies.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the world leader in training specialists of the highest level in a variety of technical areas. Within the framework of the pilot project for the implementation of the blockchain, the institute has issued one hundred digital diplomas for its graduates.

A pioneer in introducing the full-scale implementation of blockchain in order to improve education is the University of Nicosia, the largest private higher education institution in Cyprus. The university has already implemented a fully-functioning blockchain library for storing all information about students’ grades, as well as their diplomas and certificates.

Another manifestation of the University’s loyalty to the new technologies lies in the ability of students to pay school fees using bitcoin. On the Internet, university courses are available to applicants from almost one hundred countries, and diplomas and certificates are recognized by employers practically all over the world, since the university is a member of the European Universities Association and the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education .

The European Union has also expressed interest in using blockchain for educational purposes. The Special Commission studied the prospects for this and published a report on “Blockchain in Education.” This document analyzes the value of the technology, its possible risks, as well as the prospects and options for using blockchain to accredit participants of personal and academic school training. The Commission believes that the technical base for the technology’s application in the education sector have not yet been sufficiently developed, but the prospects are promising — in the very near future, blockchain will really be able to solve many problems.

Meet and share your experience with professionals engaged in harnessing the potential of Blockchain for international development at the first Blockchain for Development Forum to unfold in Southeastern Europe. The event is scheduled for November 7th, 2018, and is due to take place at Opera Plaza Hotel in Cluj, Romania.

Original source: Medium
Published on 23 May 2018