Diplome and CIMEA have launched «diplome», the first blockchain-based service that enable a secure and guaranteed  process of issuing and sharing qualification titles.

The service «diplome», aims to create a world-wide ecosystem where the qualifications and certifications of an individual are safely and securely managed, reducing risks of falsifications thus facilitating the portability process of such certifications.

In few words, within Diplome, individuals get assigned a secure “wallet” where they can store their certifications using the blockchain technology, therefore creating a decentralized, transparent, certified and tamper-proof ecosystem with the goal to simplify the procedure for a student, a graduate or a professional to enroll in a university or to apply for a job in the labor market of another country

Players involved

The system implements therefore a global network of trust and it is open to:

• holder of the qualification: unique owner of the information, can upload free of charge all the qualifications of his academic career in his wallet;
• higher education institutions: will be able to use the ecosystem in all the phases of the academic career. Since the enrolment stage, through the entire study programme, to register the exams taken and the corresponding marks, till the awarding phase, when also the final qualification will be registered in blockchain in a temper resistant and immutable way. The qualifications and the information registered in blockchain remain at the student disposal for his entire academic and professional career;
• stakeholders awarding non academic qualifications: certificates attesting a new training programme can be uploaded in the student’s wallet;
• certification authorities: stakeholders that assess qualifications, such as a country’s ENIC-NARIC or credential evaluation centres, can provide information about transparency, authenticity, understanding and comparability of qualifications at international level directly in blockchain.

Why blockchain

Blockchain is a technology that is at the basis of Diplome’s service and allows to securely store and share the qualification data owned by the used, in particular this technology supports the service in the following areas:

1. Digitalization of the recognition process: blockchain technology facilitates and speeds up the process of recognition of qualifications simplifying the trusted distribution of verified certifications and at the same time reducing frauds.
2. Student-centered approach: holders of the qualifications are the main stakeholders of the system. They can upload documents of their career, choose with whom they want to share them and certify their competences in a standardized way in line with international standards.
3. Data security and privacy: the holder of the qualification is the only owner of the information and of the crypto key that constitutes the only way to access user’s data, being fully compliant with the principles of the data privacy, e.g. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
4. Fraud minimization: data saved within the blockchain structure are temper resistant (sometimes defined as ‘immutable’) and any modification of stored information is complex to be implemented, with a cost that does not match the potential advantage. Access to the information registered in blockchain by a certified source allows to verify directly the authenticity of the qualification stored.