University of Johannesburg Taps Blockchain to Issue Certificates for Short-Term Programs

A famous South-African university has leveraged blockchain technology for certificate issuance. 

The University of Johannesburg has become the first tertiary institution in South Africa to leverage blockchain technology in the issuance of diploma certificates. 

According to a report today, the University of Johannesburg will be issuing certificates for short-term training programs using blockchain. 

Notably, the initiative is important as it helps graduates of the institution to easily forward their certificates to prospective employers via the digital form. 

Before now, the University of Johannesburg became the first university in the country to issue digital certificates. However, the tertiary institution has leveraged the emerging technology, blockchain, to bolster the level of security and easy authenticity of certificates. 

Per the announcement, all short-term training program certificates will have special QR codes. The QR codes can be easily scanned using a smartphone by anyone, including prospective employers, who want to verify the certificate’s authenticity. 

The school is planning to issue 30,000 blockchain-based certificates to different students by the end of the year. 

Commenting on the development, Tinus van Zyl, director of administration at the University of Johannesburg, said the school has been working on various ways to boost the security of educational documents in the last 10 years. 

Also commenting on the initiative is Jaco du Toit, deputy director of the University of Johannesburg’s Cyber ​​Security Center. 

According to Toit, with certificates now hosted on the blockchain, the inputted data cannot be changed, adding that the initiative will contribute to improving the educational sector.  

“If all higher education institutions start issuing diplomas based on the blockchain, with the help of which graduates can quickly confirm their qualifications, they will make a significant contribution to the fight against document forgery,” Toit added. 

The issuance of blockchain-based certificates is a step in the right direction to actualize the school’s goal of combating fraudulent educational certifications. 

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