Universities in Singapore Now Issue Graduate Certificates on OpenCerts Blockchain

May,06,2019 Several notable Universities across the globe such as Cornell University, Duke University, New York University, Princeton University and the oldest Catholic university in the United State

May,06,2019

Several notable Universities across the globe such as Cornell University, Duke University, New York University, Princeton University and the oldest Catholic university in the United States, Georgetown University, are utilizing blockchain technology. Universities in Singapore now join the trend loudly and proudly.

Singapore Delves into Blockchain Technology

The Ministry of Education (MOE), the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), came together to form OpenCerts, a program aimed to issue blockchain based certificates to university students in Singapore.

The OpenCerts program is based on the Ethereum blockchain, and it aims to offer an effective way of releasing and authenticating certificates, improving data protection and delivery and at the same time reducing costs linked with conventional paper certificates.

With OpenCerts, schools will not need to issue hard copy of digital certificates and will be able to verify the validity of a certificate. They can rather verify the validity of a certificate or any other credential by simply dragging it onto the OpenCerts web portal.

Students from 18 universities in Singapore will collect digital blockchain-based certificates and once all 18 schools completely deploy the model, in the years to come, it could produce hundreds of thousands of electronic certificates. According to a source familiar with the information, OpenCerts is an open-source, state-related endeavor and supposedly the biggest blockchain-related app of its kind ever introduced to the world.

The 18 Listed Institutions in Singapore include;

Lasalle College of the Arts

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Nanyang Polytechnic

Nanyang Technological University

National Institute of Early Childhood Development

National University of Singapore

Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Republic Polytechnic

Singapore Institute of Technology

Singapore Polytechnic

Singapore Management University

Singapore University of Social Sciences

Singapore University of Technology and Design

Temasek Polytechnic

Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board

SkillsFuture Singapore

Government Technology Agency

Apparently, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and GovTech began plodding the OpenCerts program way back in 2018 during which, NP graduates got awarded with the first tranche of electronic certificates. Today, NP issues close to 10,000 hard copies of certificates every year and about 2,000 employer’s validation inquiries.