Dubai Home to the biggest Educational Blockchain Implementation Project

Educhain Project will go live in June 2018

UNLOCK met with Mark Balovnev, Chief Executive Officer of Educhain to discuss their efforts in implementing the biggest Educational Blockchain platform in the world straight from Dubai.

Educhain is a Blockchain company that enables institutions, governments and corporates to issue and authenticate secure digital documents by interfacing with a Blockchain infrastructure. Its flagship solution enables academic institutions to issue official academic credentials and automate their verification. Educhain won second place in Smart Dubai Blockchain Challenge in 2017, since then it has been working in Dubai to develop its platform and use case.

Today Educhain efforts have paid off. As Balovnev explains, “We are launching an innovative Blockchain education pilot with over 15 educational institutions in Dubai and internationally. Leading education institutions such as University of Dubai, Zayed University, Academia Management Solutions International, MENA College of Management, Horizon School and others are piloting Blockchain technology for seamless exchange and attestations of academic records.”

According to Balovnev, “Dubai entities such as KHDA (Knowledge & Human Development Authority) and Dubai Future Foundation have supported Educhain by means of introductions and communications with educational entities in Dubai. We then shortlisted 15 which we felt were not only willing but ready to take on the pilot. In addition we chose them because they already work closely together. We will also have international entities that we have worked with as part of the pilot.”

Mr. Khalfan Behloul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation stated in a press release, “This pilot demonstrates that the value of blockchain stretches far beyond the financial technology and can drive societal value and happiness in diverse areas such as educations. This project is a significant step in real implementation and solidifies Dubai’s reputation as the Blockchain capital of the world.”

How will this benefit educational institutions as well as students? The project will enable students to request and receive secure digital records to an Academic Passport allowing them to view manage and share them for school transfers, university applications and job applications. At the same time academic institutions can issue digital credentials, cutting processing time and costs while placing ownership of academic records into the hands of students and providing them with global mobility.

According to Balovnev, “Blockchain in Edtech will move along a lot faster than other forms of Blockchain implementation. The application is simple to use and easily integrated with legacy systems. It’s a plug and play tool. Early adopters will then be able to train others.”

Balovnev adds, “The project will be live within four months, in June 2018, and while most of the educational institutions are concentrated in Dubai because of ease of implementation, it will be a success story that we can use to add more schools and educational institutions in the future.”