This is the first institute in Latin America that uses blockchain technology to support electronic certificates. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge also use this tool
For the first time in Latin America, a university institute uses this tool to issue digital certificates and guarantee their authenticity. Blockchain technology continues to make its way widely in the international education sector.
Organizations such as the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Manchester, the School of Economics and Political Science of London and the University of Melbourne offer digital certifications backed with blockchain, thanks to its transparency, precision and the security that this platform offers when protecting information.
The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education team considers that traditional titles are insufficient. For this reason, in 2015 it began to issue the digital badges.
The objective is also to give a better service and a different result to those who study from a distance. Since June of this year, this Mexican institution grants to those who perform workshops, seminars and any type of courses, a paper diploma, and a digital one. “Everything is supported in blockchain”, said Claudia Arellano, coordinator of internal processes in that institute.
“It’s a very ambitious project. We plan to deliver between 5,000 and 10,000 certifications each year. So far, in Mexico and Latin America, we are the only ones in the education sector using blockchain in digital certifications”, added Paulina Campuzano, leader of customer-oriented processes.
Additionally, Local news reports this program is already present in all the headquarters of the institution, in the national ones and in some of those that are abroad, including the ones in Colombia and Peru.
The advantages
The main feature of this initiative is that it opens the door to new employment opportunities. The digital format can be easily added to a digital curriculum, to social networks such as LinkedIn, and can also be shared with any person or organization anywhere in the world, regardless of physical barriers and, better still, ensuring the accuracy of the document.
Regarding the functionality of the document, an advantage is that the person interested in hiring the professional graduated from this institution can verify the authenticity of the college degree through a web portal that uses blockchain as a notary, locating the transaction ID to verify nothing has been altered after blockchain registered the certificate.
Blockchain technology can work practically in any operation that involves value, or properties. It can also be applied to generate voting systems and even video games and other connected objects.
According to Gartner information technologies, a consulting and research firm, the importance of blockchain is such that by 2026 its commercial added value will exceed 360,000 million dollars and then it will grow to more than 3.1 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, the data structure continues to allow the transfer of digital data and conquering land in the organization of the activities devised by society.
By María Rodríguez
