Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea has issued blockchain diplomas to 828 students. These students were sent a QR(Quick Response) code which linked to their respective blockchain diplomas. Traditionally, POSTECH used to host graduation ceremony but this time the ceremony was scrapped.
Delivering the statement, a university spokesperson told that with the outbreak of the new coronavirus, it has become quite impossible to hold the ceremony. In lieu of this, the students have been sent blockchain-secured diplomas. The degree is secured by blockchain technology.
POSTECH is one of the several universities which have started giving out blockchain-secured diplomas to their students. Massachusetts Institute of Technology used it in 2015 for logging certificates and started handing out blockchain diplomas in 2017. 2019 saw Royal Melbourne Insitute of Technology, Melbourne issuing diplomas via blockchain technology.
Blockchain Diplomas – How do they work?
The idea behind using blockchain technology to send diplomas is to prevent the misuse of the degree or any other similar fraudulent activities. In the need to presenting the diploma to the employer, the employer will need to look it up on ICONLOOP. ICONLOOP is a company that works on mass adaptation of blockchain for day-to-day activities. The database would have the name of all the students who have received the degree from POSTECH.
Universities who join the platform will have access created for them to easily certify the diplomas through a smart contract, then this contract address will be listed on the university website. The diplomas the university wants to certify have to digitalized (either scanned or printed as a pdf).
These pdfs will be the ones certified. On the admin interface, the university staff can create a new smart contract list where they can upload the diplomas. The website will calculate the hash of the diploma and add it to the smart contract. The platform will be open for a certain period when they can upload diplomas.
During this period adding new diplomas is possible but deleting or modifying diplomas will be not. When all diplomas are published the smart contract will be closed and no additional diplomas can be added.
So far the coronavirus has afflicted more than 35000 people across the globe. The death toll by coronavirus has exceeded 700. As of now, South Korea itself has 24 confirmed cases of the virus. The coronavirus has left the economy sliding down. However, the same can’t be said for the crypto community.
Amidst the coronavirus epidemic, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have soared. The price of gold and oil have risen as well. This has also led to the return of gold-based cryptocurrency. However, blockchain technology is being used in several countries like Venezuela to contain such epidemics.
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