Cryptocurrency
Blockchain
University of Bahrain Achieves Academic First with Blockchain Diplomas
Education and innovation have become intimately entwined courtesy of the University of Bahrain (UOB) and its new blockchain-based diplomas. Developed by Blockcerts in conjunction with Learning Machine, the academic papers will be issued and stored on a blockchain, thus making the records tamper-proof and easily shareable. Commenting on the move, University of Bahrain president Professor Riyad Hamzah said the technology will allow students to have more control over their academic and professional futures.
“Students will have their own digital file, which means that they or indeed their employers will not have to wait for us to validate their credentials,” Hamzah told the local press on January 14.
Securing Student’s Futures
By storing diplomas on a blockchain, UOB is pushing to create a level of parity within the jobs market. With employers often running into issues such as delays and fraud when assessing a candidate’s academic credentials, the technology will make the evaluation process more transparent and reliable. For students, the upshot of this is that they don’t lose out on a job because another prospective employee has lied on their application form.
In fact, the decision to issue diplomas using Blockcerts’ open standard system ties in with Bahrain’s push to become a technology first country. In December 2018, Bahrain Central Bank published a draft of its forthcoming cryptocurrency regulations. Aiming to become a leading crypto country within Asia, government officials are now supporting this and a host of blockchain-based innovations.
For the world of academia at large, the recent announcement by UOB could encourage other institutions to follow suit. With Blockcerts’ technology able to work across multiple platforms, including the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, there is scope for international cooperation. This, in turn, could lead to a global database of diplomas.
As we’ve seen in recent months, the growth of blockchain technology has led to innovations in a variety of areas. Social network Minds migrated from the Rinkeby test network to Ethereum midway through 2018. At the same time former Apple engineer Steve Wozniak set-up his blockchain-based investment platform Equi. Now, through the efforts of UOB, academic institutions now have a way into the blockchain space.
UOB Integrating Itself into an Increasingly Digital World
Blockchains changing the world. (Image: Pixabay)
Outside of the large-scale innovations, blockchains have also become more accessible to individuals in recent months. The Lisk ecosystem uses JavaScript as its programming language, something that makes it more intuitive and accessible to novices wanting to create a decentralized app. For many industry analysts, these types of innovations are the biggest thing to come out of the cryptocurrency movement.
Although there are still plenty of reasons to buy Bitcoin (BTC) et al, the underlying technology is proving more useful to businesses, banks and major intuitions. While blockchains and digital tokens go hand-in-hand, the former is opening more doors for those that want to create a more secure, accessible and transparent digital ecosystem. For the UOB, this means issuing diplomas on a blockchain to ensure their students can be competitive in an increasingly digital world
Featured image source: Pixabay