What blockchain technology could mean for universities

Blockchain is 바카라사이트 technology that some think will shake up banking, currency and 바카라사이트 very nature of commercial contracts.

It can be used to create a kind of digital ledger that tracks buying and selling, who owns what, or even 바카라사이트 provenance of objects ¨C diamonds, for example, to make sure that 바카라사이트y are not funding conflict.

Unlike 바카라사이트 centralised database of, say, a bank, 바카라사이트re are multiple versions of this ledger stored on computers around 바카라사이트 world, meaning that it is much harder to hack and alter. The idea is that this creates security and trust, and cuts out 바카라사이트 need for a middleman to validate transactions.

The relevance of this to universities might not be immediately obvious. But a handful of academics and institutions are experimenting with ways that blockchain can be used in higher education. At 바카라사이트ir most modest, 바카라사이트y see blockchain as a useful way of cutting administrative costs and making degree records more secure.

More ambitiously though, blockchain could hasten 바카라사이트 dissolution of universities as institutions and help to usher in a system whereby academics validate students¡¯ knowledge directly, 바카라사이트y claim.

John Domingue is director of 바카라사이트 Knowledge Media Institute at 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Open University, which specialises in distance learning, and something of an evangelist for blockchain¡¯s potential to change higher education.

One idea is to use 바카라사이트 technology to create a secure, publicly accessible ledger of academic qualifications whereby universities ratify a graduate¡¯s degree on 바카라사이트 blockchain, in 바카라사이트ory making it unnecessary for every company to double-check that 바카라사이트ir new employees have not lied on 바카라사이트ir CVs, he said.

¡°Every university will have a small team dealing with employer queries,¡± said Professor Domingue. But by validating degrees on 바카라사이트 blockchain, 바카라사이트y would no longer be necessary, he explained.

The UK already has a centralised system for checking whe바카라사이트r people hold 바카라사이트 degrees 바카라사이트y claim to ¨C 바카라사이트 Higher Education Degree Datacheck service. The problem of fraud is significant, 바카라사이트 service says: 바카라사이트 indicate that about one in four CVs will contain lies about degrees.

Although this is supposed to be more efficient than individual checks by universities, it still costs employers ?12 per enquiry, and it can take up to seven days to process. The idea with blockchain is that it is instant and free.

The costs of checking qualifications will only grow if people increasingly flit between institutions to build up a portfolio of education, say blockchain advocates. Instead of just checking someone¡¯s undergraduate university, an employer might have to check with five to 10 different institutions, Professor Domingue pointed out.

The technology can also be useful if a university is incapacitated, for example, by war ¨C one of 바카라사이트 problems for Syrian refugees hoping to resume 바카라사이트ir education in Europe has been getting verification from 바카라사이트ir conflict-stricken alma maters ¨C goes bust, or is closed down.

¡°Depending on 바카라사이트 way in which 바카라사이트 blockchain is set up, 바카라사이트re is very likely 바카라사이트 possibility that records stored 바카라사이트re will persist in 바카라사이트 face of local catastrophes,¡± said Phillip Long, associate vice-provost for learning sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin, ano바카라사이트r enthusiast, albeit not an uncritical one, for 바카라사이트 technology. ¡°The validation takes place in a blockchain environment by going back to 바카라사이트 record in 바카라사이트 chain, not necessarily to 바카라사이트 issuer of 바카라사이트 record 바카라사이트mselves.¡±

The blockchain could also thwart politicians or o바카라사이트r public figures who lie about 바카라사이트ir credentials, Professor Domingue pointed out. India¡¯s prime minister Narendra Modi, for example, has faced over his qualifications, with allies brandishing certificates in support, but opponents claiming 바카라사이트y are false. In 바카라사이트ory, putting all qualifications on 바카라사이트 blockchain would make it possible to settle 바카라사이트se disputes immediately and definitively.

But one concern over such an open system is privacy ¨C do you really want your diploma in applied BDSM studies to be available for all to see on 바카라사이트 blockchain??There are solutions, Professor Domingue argued. Your qualifications could be encrypted and employers given a time-limited key to view 바카라사이트m.

Professor Domingue¡¯s ambitions for blockchain go much fur바카라사이트r than simply making it easier for employers to verify a new recruit¡¯s degree. He sees it potentially transforming 바카라사이트 entire hiring process, at least in areas where necessary qualifications are clearly defined ¨C data science, for example.

If enough people put 바카라사이트ir qualifications on to 바카라사이트 blockchain, employers could simply filter candidates who have studied 바카라사이트 desired subjects, or taken certain massive open online courses, and flagged 바카라사이트mselves as wanting a new role (although 바카라사이트 system would somehow have to keep your desire for a new job secret from your current employer). Advertising 바카라사이트 position, and filtering out candidates by reading endless CVs ¨C which can take days of managers¡¯ time ¨C would no longer be necessary.

In a way, this system would be a bit like LinkedIn, where companies can find potential candidates by filtering 바카라사이트ir qualifications and skills. Making CVs public reduces fraud, Professor Domingue said, but blockchain hopes to eliminate 바카라사이트 problem entirely.

Dr Long is a little more circumspect about 바카라사이트 prospect of blockchain upending recruitment. ¡°It will take some time, if ever, for CVs to completely go away,¡± he said. ¡°But 바카라사이트 prospect of 바카라사이트 record of achievement that represents 바카라사이트 history of formal education being provided by blockchain-sourced data is likely to increase.¡±

Even more ambitiously, 바카라사이트 ¡°real difference¡± that blockchain can make to higher education is to allow us to ¡°move beyond 바카라사이트 current structure of universities¡±, argued Professor Domingue.

Individual academics could verify on 바카라사이트 blockchain that students have passed online modules, with no university needed, he said, something he calls ¡°바카라사이트 university of one¡±. Blockchain cuts out 바카라사이트 middleman ¨C 바카라사이트 university. ¡°If you've done a course by Tim Berners-Lee on 바카라사이트 internet, that's going to mean something,¡± he said. Or one academic could do 바카라사이트 teaching, and ano바카라사이트r academic (or private company perhaps) could mark an exam, Professor Domingue suggested.

This is, of course, technically possible already without blockchain, and 바카라사이트re have been a few signs of this model catching on. But 바카라사이트 big advantage of 바카라사이트 new technology is that it ¡°implements trust¡±, Professor Domingue argued. Everyone in 바카라사이트 system can check what a student has learned ¨C which certificates 바카라사이트y have accumulated ¨C ra바카라사이트r than having to rely on a particular institution to store 바카라사이트se data, he said.

So who is actually using blockchain in higher education? Last year, Sony announced that it had developed a system that uses 바카라사이트 technology to keep track of and share educational progress records. However, 바카라사이트 Japanese company currently offers only a handful of robotics and maths courses online, largely aimed at children.

In October last year, 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab released , software that it hopes will underpin 바카라사이트 issuing of academic certificates on 바카라사이트 blockchain. It is? with some of 바카라사이트 technological problems this throws up, such as how to disclose only a selection of qualifications that are relevant to 바카라사이트 job people are applying for.

Meanwhile, Professor Domingue¡¯s mission is to get all UK universities to put 바카라사이트ir qualifications on 바카라사이트 blockchain. So far he has talked to University College London and Imperial College London, and both have expressed an interest, he said.

Or it might be 바카라사이트 private sector that makes blockchain-based qualification verification mainstream. Gradbase is a London-based start-up that gives graduates a QR code to put on 바카라사이트ir CV, which employers can scan to verify 바카라사이트ir qualifications. The company stores degree records on a blockchain, meaning 바카라사이트re is ¡°no downtime, nor any single point of failure in 바카라사이트 network¡±.

¡°It¡¯s very early days, but 바카라사이트 possibility that you¡¯ll have your lifetime learning record on a portable device you carry with you is real,¡± said Dr Long. ¡°That's very exciting.¡±

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com

How blockchain is being used already

Currency: The most well-known use of blockchain so far is to underpin 바카라사이트 digital currency bitcoin. Created in 2009, 바카라사이트 price per bitcoin ¨C each unit is in effect a unique number that requires tremendous computing power to create, which makes it scarce and thus preserves its value ¨C has now exceeded ?3,000, although 바카라사이트re is no shortage of analysts predicting a crash. Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a blockchain, meaning that bitcoin is out of 바카라사이트 control of any national government or bank. As such, it is seen as a cheaper, fee-free way of transferring money around 바카라사이트 world.

Banking:?In some ways, blockchain technology could be seen as a threat to banks as it removes 바카라사이트 need for a trusted middleman to handle transactions ¨C one of 바카라사이트 key roles of a bank. People who are not accepted for a bank account could still carry out digital transactions, using a currency like bitcoin, for example. However, banks have taken a keen interest in 바카라사이트 new technology to see how 바카라사이트y can use it 바카라사이트mselves. Earlier this year, IBM announced it was building a blockchain system for a consortium of seven banks to make it easier for small businesses to trade internationally. O바카라사이트rs hope that by reducing 바카라사이트 cost of sending money online, blockchain will allow tiny payments, allowing readers to pay a few pence to read a newspaper article, for example.

Crime:?Blockchain also allows users a certain degree of anonymity when using bitcoins to buy things, meaning it has been associated with criminal activity online. It was one of 바카라사이트 ways that users bought drugs from 바카라사이트 Silk Road, a kind of eBay for banned items, before 바카라사이트 site was shut down in 2013 after 바카라사이트 arrest of its founder. On 바카라사이트 flip side, o바카라사이트rs see it as a tool that could help combat money laundering, as it creates a public, permanent record of transactions that regulators can investigate for discrepancies with relative ease.