The integration of blockchain in education is a transformative approach as it can redefine how universities operate and deliver education. Many colleges and universities have already started experimenting with blockchain. Recently, Open Campus received a grant from the Fondazione Arbitrum to launch EDU Chain, the first layer3 blockchain designed for education.
Many industry experts believe that blockchain can be indispensable as a means to validate academic credentials, enhance record keeping, increase efficiencies, and improve security with an emphasis on expanding educational opportunities.
In 2021, the global market of blockchain in education stood at US$ 118.7 million, which is anticipated to reach US$ 3,049.26 million by 2030. The market is growing at a CAGR of 43.94% during the forecast period, according to Business Research Insights.
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How Universities Are Using Blockchain
The traditional method of verifying, issuing, and storing academic credentials is often slow, costly, and prone to duplicity. Embracing blockchain can help simplify this process by allowing universities to issue digital diplomas and transcripts that are safe, easily verified, and instantly available to students and employers.
According to a report by the American Council on Education, blockchain could give individuals agency over data like degrees, transcripts, certifications and apprenticeships. This promises to create “more efficient, durable connections between education and work” by creating a centralized, trusted depository for learners, students and employers to share and validate education and experience, the report noted.
Institutions like MIT use blockchain technology to issue digital diplomas to graduates. The University of Nicosia in Cyprus (UNIC) uses its own technology to issue all university diplomas on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that makes managing and verifying credentials easier.
Here are comprehensive details on how universities can use blockchain for higher education.
Credential Verification
In higher education, credential fraud is a serious problem, where counterfeit degrees and certificates can lower the value of legitimate qualifications. Embracing blockchain provides a tamper-proof and easily verifiable way to store and share academic credentials.
When colleges and universities provide diplomas and certificates on blockchain, employers and other educational institutions can easily check their legitimacy and authenticity without having to contact the issuing university. The technology streamlines the verification process and mitigates the danger of fraud.
Security of Student Records
Like other sectors, the education system also deals with huge amounts of data in the form of student records. Managing and securing such data is a complex and resource-intensive task. This may also make them vulnerable to hacking, loss, and manipulation.
Using blockchain can help institutions store student records securely, ensuring they are immutable and accessible only to authorized individuals. For example, Sony Global Education uses a blockchain-based system to secure and share student records, making them safely and easily accessible to students and institutions.
Transparent Academic Publishing
There is often the case where academic publishing houses often criticized for lack of transparency, high costs, and issues with peer review processes. This is where blockchain helps them by making processes more transparent and fair.
As distributed ledger technology can record each step of the peer review process, universities can take advantage of it and ensure that the process is transparent and all contributions are properly acknowledged.
Improved Collaboration and Research
Collaboration is very important in research where multiple institutions come together. However, managing data sharing and intellectual property is difficult in this scenario. Integrating blockchain into collaborative research can facilitate secure and transparent data sharing among researchers. This will also ensure that intellectual property is intact and protected.
For example, the Berkeley Haas Blockchain Initiative of the University of California, Berkeley is a five-year partnership with Ripple for academic research. This partnership also emphasizes advancing student engagement, technical development, and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payments.
Access to Global Data
The Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) of the University of Utah pioneers the use of blockchain in academia through its participation in the National Science Data Fabric (NSDF) and National Data Platform (NDP) initiatives. This is aimed at improving global and equitable access to large scientific datasets including multiple petabytes of NASA climate data.
The university is dodging traditional barriers to data access with the help of blockchain enabling interactive processing and exploration of vast datasets without extensive local resources.
In his statement, Director of SCI Manish Parashar explained how blockchain-based storage enables data democracy.
“Through blockchain-based data storage, the University of Utah is advancing data democracy by enhancing secure and decentralized data sharing. This innovation accelerates scientific discoveries and broadens access for diverse researchers, marking a significant step towards open and equitable data ecosystems.”
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Blockchain in Education Empowering Scientific Research
The adoption of blockchain in higher education is driven by improved security, enhanced data integrity, data sharing, and collaboration across institutions. The technology holds immense promise to empower scientific research by addressing various critical challenges and enhancing various processes.
Here’s a look at the blockchain to revolutionize scientific research.
- Enhancing research integrity and transparency through immutable records, audit trails, and data provenance.
- Improving data sharing and collaboration through decentralized data storage, smart contracts, and interoperability.
- Securing intellectual property and copyrights through timestamping, digital rights management, and patent filing.
- Facilitating peer review and publication through transparent reviews, incentivizing reviewers, and preventing plagiarism.
- Funding and grant management through transparent funding, smart contracts for grants, and crowdfunding research.
- Enhancing data security and privacy through encryption, access control, and data anonymization.
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The Future Outlook
Some industry professionals consider blockchain as a driving force to improve pedagogy, in part by supporting deeper interdisciplinary collaborations. Many look at this technology as a valuable new channel for researchers and professors to create and share intellectual property, with an emphasis on its controlled use.
With the potential to address several existing challenges while creating new opportunities for innovation, the future of blockchain in education and research looks promising. Universities, by leveraging blockchain-driven storage solutions, can make a more secure, inclusive and collaborative future for education and academic research.
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