What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a technology that allows peers to share information without the need for centralised authority. Each record is stored in blocks with an assigned timestamp with all relevant information necessary to ensure transparent and secure storage of information that is immutable. The guaranteed safety of the database results in minimum maintenance costs.
Why Blockchain?
Today’s world is widely dependent on transnational mobility with thousands starting or continuing their careers abroad. However, when doing so, many are faced with difficulties overcoming obstacles deriving from distinctions in educational systems. Very few precise rules on cross border recognition of educational credentials exist. Most attempts at establishing a standardised system for the recognition of these credentials have been executed at intra-European level, not solving the issues third-country nationals are facing. In fact, according to the European Commission, more than 40% of the employed highly educated third-country nationals work below their qualification levels in the EU.
The Erasmus+ project OBEC (One Block for Educational Credentials) aims to explore the potential of Blockchain technology to promote competency development and recognition of skills and qualifications by creating an innovative system to issue and validate learning credentials. By doing so, the project’s goal is to encourage the professional and academic integration of migrants, exchange students and individuals with alternative learning backgrounds.
The validation and storage of educational credentials on the tailormade Blockchain platform is expected to bring about positive effects promoting employability, empowerment and accessibility to the labour market.
The ECTA platform: an introduction
The OBEC consortium consisting of five partners from four European countries has developed its Blockchain technology database named ECTA where educational credentials can be safely stored. ECTA is a platform for standardisation and simplified issuance of competences that can be used in various ways for different levels of integration.
The platform can be used by multiple users such as institutions that issue competences and certificates. Furthermore, the platform may also be useful to companies monitoring the development of their employees ’ competences, or schools tracking the educational progress of their students.
The main benefits of the platform include total authenticity, decentralisation, trust and immutability, less bureaucracy and direct interaction between learners and academia with recognition of acquired competences.
The testing phase
To test the ECTA platform, EURADA organised two training courses from 8-10 and 15-17 March. The students participating in both sessions will receive the accompanying credentials to the training courses held online. Attendees will be able to quickly and easily create a profile on ECTA through which the modules they complete and the associated competences they gain will be accredited. Finally, ECTA will serve as reliable and irrefutable proof of participation.
The training courses
The first training course was held between the 8th and 10th of March and informed participants on how to turn a business idea into a business plan.
On day one founder and former director of EURADA, Christian Saublens highlighted what the entrepreneurial mindset entails and what questions aspiring entrepreneurs should ask themselves before attempting to start a business. Young Spanish entrepreneur Adrià Aguado Lorente guided the participants through a two-day step-by-step journey of the start-up process and pitching.
Between the 15th and 17th of March, the focus was on the circular economy. The course was opened by Eddy Wille, an expert in dynamic landfill and brownfield management at the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM). Thereafter Pierre Condamine from Zero Waste Europe illustrated the increasing need for a transition towards a global circular economy. Jerome Friedrichs, project officer at EURADA drove participants further in-depth into the topic.
On day two, Stein Janssens (Flanders Circular) highlighted the opportunities and threats the circular economy entails. Thereafter, Cristina Crespo (ITAINNOVA) provided the participants with examples of circular practices such as the recycling of medical facemasks.
On day three, participants were inspired by the case studies provided by actors in the field. Zdeněk Hanzal (Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia) presented the role RDA’s can play in assisting circular enterprises together with Dana Kalistová who held a moving talk on her company KabinetCB. After that, Attila Ferenczi presented his circular enterprise Recobin explaining his business starting from scratch. Finally, Marta Serrano shared a case study on custom regeneration and social commitment by the Italian designer Danilo Ragona.
Implementation
Results on experimental courses will be exchanged with other partners on a comparative basis and help bring out conclusions and guidelines for the future. The ideal goal is to see individuals building a global portfolio to track all of their learning and easily reusing their credentials to get a job or apply for further training all across Europe. Employers can then dramatically reduce the time and cost of verifying credentials and processing job applications.
May you have any questions regarding Blockchain technology as a means of issuing and storing educational credentials or the OBEC project, please do not hesitate to contact Erasmus+ Junior Project Officer jip.lenssen(at)eurada.org or visit the project’s website at this link. If you would be interested in visiting the ECTA platform, feel free to do so here.
Reference
European Commission. (2020). Migration and Home Affairs. Retrieved from Integration in the labour market: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/migration-and-asylum/legal-migration-and-integration/integration/integration-labour-market_en
