1. ANDREIA INAMORATO DOS SANTOS
European Commission: Scientific Project Officer, Joint Research Center
2. Joint Research Centre
the European Commission's
in-house science service
Blockchain in
Education
A study on the digital
accreditation of personal and
academic learning
Andreia Inamorato dos Santos
@aisantos
Groningen, The Netherlands
5th September 2017
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Joint Research Centre - JRC
The JRC (Seville) is the in-house science service of the European
Comission. Our main goal is to support policy making in Europe via
research evidence. We have over 100 policy reports published in the
field of education, to include reports on Open Education, area in
which we locate our blockchain study.
It can be downloaded from:
http://bit.ly/openeduframework
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DigComp
(DG EMPL)
EntreComp
(DG EMPL)
DigCompConsumers
(DG JUST)
OpenEdu Policies (DG EAC)
MOOCKnowledge
(DG EAC)
Blockchain for
Education
(DG JRC)
OPTEV
(DG JRC)
MOOCs4 inclusion
(DG EAC)
Learning Analytics
(DG JRC)
Anticipatory studies
Policy & society
OrganisationsIndividuals
DigCompEdu
(DG EAC)
DigPolEdu
(DG EAC)
CPDmodels
(DG EAC)
ICTinPISA
(DG EAC)
CompuThink
(DG JRC)
DigCompOrg4Schools
(DG EAC)
OpenEdu (HE)
(DG EAC)
DigCompOrg
(DG EAC)
Current JRC research on Digital Age Learning
and 21st Century Skills
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Blockchain in Education study
Who is involved: The study is being carried out by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), unit
B4, of which the overall education project areas coordination is by Yves Punie. Main
researchers for this study are Alex Grech and Anthony Camilleri (Strategyworks) and
study design and management is by Andreia Inamorato (European Commission, JRC).
Collaborators for use cases: interviewees, informants and reviewers based in Europe
and abroad (e.g. Open University UK; MIT, Learning Machine, University of Nicosia, Malta
education institutions, Ministry of Education of Estonia and The Netherlands - University
of Groningen)
Outcome: A report to be published in the Autumn 2017
‘
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Outcome
‘Blockchain in Education: a study on the digital
accreditation of personal and academic learning’
(JRC, 2017)
Upcoming report:
Autumn 2017
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Aims of the study
The study sought to:
Identify, analyse and disseminate the state-of-the-art of the use of blockchain
technologies in education in the EU. Currently stakeholders within the education
sector are often unaware of the social advantages and potential of blockchain technology.
The report tries to address this gap
Explore examples of practices via case studies in Europe and abroad ( and present
possible future scenarios: e.g. blockchain for automatic recognition and transfer of
credits, as a lifelong learning passport, for tracking intellectual property, etc)
Propose a set of recommendations that may support EU efforts (Member States and
the European Commission) to open up education in Member States by maximising the
potential for blockchain technologies.
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Report content overview
Identification and engaging with the key issues which are influencing policy-makers
and other key stakeholders in considering the use of the Blockchain as a value-added
proposition within an education landscape (social value proposition: 1. self-
sovereignty and identity; 2: trust; 3. transparency and provenance; 4. immutability;
5. disintermediation and 6. collaboration)
Exploration of how education institutions and learners can use the technology as a
transparent, trusted system for securing, sharing and verifying academic
achievements in Europe ( e.g. ontology of certifications, smart contracts, digital
signatures, grants issuing, etc)
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Report content overview
Discussion whether the technology is fit-for-purpose for the
recording of academic achievements within the short-term,
and the likely take-up by European universities and higher
education institutions should it be deployed as an open standard
Discussion of how the Blockchain may help bridge the legitimate
need for academic institutions to safeguard their brands
and reputation when issuing academic credentials and the
aspirations of individuals to maximise their learning portfolio
OpenCred report (JRC, 2016)
Validation of non-formal,
MOOC-based learning
Available at: http://bit.ly/opencredreport
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Report content overview
Identification of a set of clear opportunities and challenges for the take-up of the
Blockchain in higher education institutions
Exploration of issues relating to interoperability of technology; and how the
centralized nature of accreditation and the decentralized nature of the
Blockchain could be reconciled
Set of recommendations that may support open education in Member States by
maximising the potential for blockchain technologies
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Main conclusions
This report concludes that blockchain applications for education are still in their infancy
(1). It describes case studies of implementations from various European and non-
European players, but each of these implementations is in a piloting phase.
However, even from these early pilots, it is possible to suggest that blockchain has the
potential to disrupt the market in student information systems (2), by loosening the
control current players have over this market. ( in line with open education’s sharing and
transparency principles)
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Main conclusions
A further conclusion is that the benefits of blockchain in education are better achieved
through open implementations of the technology (3), by utilising open source software,
open standards for data, and implementing self-sovereign data management solutions.
Finally the study recommends that: a) further development of the technology in the
educational field should be considered as a shared competence of the market and of
public authorities (4), to ensure an appropriate balance of private sector innovation
coupled with safeguard of the public interest ( shared competence between the EU and
MS)
The study will recommend how the EU can play a strategic role in introducing the Blockchain so it can improve access to educational formal, informal and non-formal opportunities; improve transparency of qualifications; and contribute towards improvements in the education and European employment sector
