An Australian university has become one of a “select group” of education institutions to pilot a new Blockchain-based student records scheme.
As part of a plan to streamline the selection process for potential employers, the University of Melbourne will make a raft of student qualification information available at a glance through a secure digital system.
“In a future where career ‘churn’ and constant technical and organizational innovation are the norm, employers are looking for ways to verify the know-how and skills of employees at a very granular level,” pro-vice chancellor Gregor Kennedy said quoted by ARN.
The scheme is being developed in cooperation with US startup Learning Machine, itself affiliated with MIT’s Media Lab. An initial trial will take place in July, with a “full rollout” slated for 2018, the publication reports.
“Anyone who needs to verify official records, such as employers, can quickly check the validity and authenticity of each certificate,” Learning Machine’s Business Development and Cultural Anthropologist Dr. Natalie Smolenski continued.
As would be expected of a Blockchain project, the future database will be tamper-proof, being able to detect changes to information which would then cause a fault in the employer verification request.
“Any attempt to change, embellish, or otherwise misrepresent a micro-credential represented by a certificate will cause the verification to fail,” Smolenski added.
MIT itself meanwhile has been pioneering more unusual use cases for disruptive technology.
In March, it held the so-called Disobedience Awards, which gave a prize of $250,000 as a reward to a successful “extraordinary example of disobedience for the benefit of society.”