In the European educational context, there is little standardization of student records. Currently, the education received at higher level is represented by learning credits, using one of two credit standards, namely ECTS (in Higher Education) or ECVET (in Professional Education).
All degrees issued by the European Higher Education Area are accompanied with a supplement to the diploma that describes the degree in standard terms. However, there are no standards for computer-readable data for diploma supplements. Higher education diplomas printed in paper, school certificates and course certificates are lost, while their common digital version may be falsified or not easily recognized.
According to the report Blockchain in Education , published in 2017 by the Joint Research Centre (the European Commission's science and knowledge service), using the blockchain for automatic recognition and credit transfer would make a student’s entire educational history instantly visible and verifiable.
With this in mind, the TRUE Project Transparency of Learning Outcomes through Blockchain Technology emerges, which develops tools that support the adoption of blockchain technology in European higher education institutions. In education, the implementation of this technology is still a novelty, but the potential and the benefits of blockchain are proving to be decisive.
Nuno Escudeiro, P.PORTO researcher and local project coordinator explains the strategy for the adoption of blockchain technology in higher education institutions across Europe. "The project seeks to develop the products necessary to implement this strategy, including an essential knowledge base on the potential of blockchain technology for the higher education sector; a MOOC (Massive Online and Open Course) on blockchain technology aimed at employees of the institutions of higher education and a serious game that supports an innovative learning experience on blockchain technology. "
P.PORTO, one of the eight partners of the project, together with other similar institutions in Finland, Holland, France, Germany, Italy and Greece, intervenes in all dimensions of the project, with responsibilities in terms of surveying the current level of use of the blockchain technology in higher education, the development and testing of the MOOC, the review of the serious game and the design of a course certification solution via micro-credentials.
For the researcher, the objective of the TRUE project "is not to offer another course on the fundamentals of blockchain, rich in high-level theoretical and technical discourse, but poor in practical data and usage scenarios". On the contrary, the project aims to clarify how a higher education institution can take advantage of the blockchain technology, how it can put it into operation in the face of its needs, what resources are needed and what opportunities can be explored, through an innovative and embracing path.
The results of the TRUE project will also be useful to promote the adoption of blockchain solutions in the implementation of the common infrastructure supporting the European University ATHENA.
