Sony announces one-stop education certificate using new blockchain technology

On February 22, 2016, Sony Global Education, a subsidiary of Japanese electronics giant Sony Group, announced a new blockchain technology to share educational data with third-party institutions.

Sony has teamed up with software engineering school Holberton school and blockchain notary company Bitproof to issue school certificates based on blockchain technology to graduates of Holberton school.

MIT Media Lab has already started issuing digital certificates since July 2015. They issue “coins” to community members, which are the physical form of their digital certificates.

Why blockchain?

Currently, the educational credential verification process requires a lot of legwork. Companies are forced to hire specialized agencies to do this work, or they have to do it themselves, which is slow, tedious and costly.

Black Haggerty, a CoreOS recruiter, said:

“Verifying someone’s degree is a very laborious process because you need to find the school’s contact information, find the right person, and then you have to do it all over again for the next person. So mid-sized and large companies often outsource this work to third parties because it’s very time-consuming and expensive for them.”

What will blockchain bring?

Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize how academic credentials are received and shared. For example, I will take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). If I pass the test, I will be issued a one-time paper certificate that I can photocopy and share with future employers or schools I want to attend. In addition to the need to photocopy, I must be careful to keep this certificate because it is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to obtain a new copy if it is lost or damaged. However, my life would become much easier if the JLPT issued a digital certificate that could be verified through a private or public blockchain. I would no longer have to worry about paper certificates, and future employers and schools would only need to access the JLPT blockchain to see my certificate. There is already evidence that such digital certificates are already available.

“After taking an academic proficiency test, an individual can authorize the institution that organizes the test to share the test results with one or more third-party assessment agencies. - Sony International Education”

Certificate inspection

Verification of credentials is a piece of cake for blockchain. Employers can verify data through Resumes or LinkedIn at almost zero cost, and can also access and verify detailed training information. For employees and students, the benefits are obvious. They will no longer need to pay high fees to schools in exchange for transcripts or run around to collect various documents. Blockchain technology can be applied not only to work or recruitment, but also to other applications, such as applying for visas and work permits.

Given that people currently spend a lot of time and money on certified copies, notarized documents, transcripts, legalization and verification, the development of blockchain will free many people from these hassles. Although blockchain is still in its early stages, we are indeed moving towards a more digital and more verifiable future, where decentralized and unregulated third parties can allow everyone to get important information in seconds at a fraction of the cost.

Original article: http://cointelegraph.com/news/sony-started-using-blockchain-for-hassle-free-education-certificates
By Shivdeep Dhaliwal
Compiled by: Kyle
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/sony-using-blockchain)