Smart Diploma

Blockchain verification platform for Diplomas & Certificates

5 followers

Blockchain verification platform for Diplomas & Certificates

5 followers

Smart Diploma is a blockchain anti-falsification solution for academic diplomas and certificates. It's a new safety standard for the knowledge based economy.

Launch tags:Productivity•Education•Tech

Launch Team

Viktor.comAn AI coworker that actually does the work

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Probably not the issue in education I would try to solve with blockchain. I look forward to the anti-stratification developments.

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9yr ago

Skarbe

Maker

Hey @lolatesla. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – can you clarify that please?

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9yr ago

@nikita_martynov I once hired a candidate with a (legitimate) Master's in Construction Technology from Georgia Tech to help head up the construction side of an investment company. It turned out that I (finance background) knew more about construction than she did and I've met plenty of people before and since then with no diploma that can manage construction projects in their sleep. I think especially by emphasizing "reputable" institutions this only furthers the social stratification that hinders social mobility. Much like the algorithms that scan resumes for specific keywords, overlooking what could be very promising candidates. I do absolutely agree that there is a need for verification of skills, but a diploma is not that verification in my opinion (having done a lot of hiring). Perhaps on a course by course basis instead of a diploma. For instance, I once took a couple graphic design classes at a community college in CA for fun. Without the diploma, how would I show those acquired skills? I think something that addresses that would be massively valuable and even go towards releasing people from the rigid "4 years or nothing" structure that exists today. (I think Peter Thiel talked at length about this.)

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9yr ago

Skarbe

Maker

@lolatesla agreed, same story here, when hiring developers we face the problem of forged documentation as well, when coming to an interview we get the idea that candidate haven't finished bootcamp that he showed in the resume. Our goal is to help institutions, especially small schools, to secure their reputation with this solution. Proof of the qualification is another topic, and it might be a great idea to design a solution for that as well.

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9yr ago

@nikita_martynov okay but there was no forged documentation in the above scenario. The candidate legitimately had a Masters degree. She just wasn't qualified. I naively placed the value of that degree over experience. I think a lot of people do that because it's just easier. This only furthers that tendency as yet another gatekeeper to social mobility. The people this product is set out to help, as stated in the initial description, are basically the 'poor ivy leaguers who are getting a raw deal because a few people are lying and saying they got a degree from their alma mater' and the lazy HR managers. Sorry if those subsets aren't the first victims of the system that comes to mind when I think "hey, there should be a solution for something broken in the education system." Sorry to sound bitter, but this is a topic that has always been near and dear to my heart and one that I think deserves a lot more critical discourse. My question is: How can you help the people that don't have the financial/institutional/familial/etc support to attend or complete a post-secondary education or by using your skills and platform?

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9yr ago

@lolatesla good points. 2 different real problems. “Candidates are faking their certificates” - this is what smart diploma has set to solve. Excited for this. “Institutions give out diploma/certificates do not reflect actual skill acquired” - is the problem you’re looking to solve. I agree, this needs a solution. Having another entity test for actual skill set is reinventing a “diploma”. What we need is a score for “reputability” of an institution, that takes a hit for every “bad candidate with a certificate” and lowers the weight on all certificates issued by the institution. Tougher problem to solve objectively. Definitely worth thinking about.

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9yr ago

The product does seem to solve the problem it addresses, but I'm left with the feeling that fundamental difference will come only after tackling the larger problem underneath. Diplomas and institutionalized education cater to profession-based economy. Today we live in a project-based economy, where your skillset and where you applied it determine your competence. This is the ultimate thing that needs tracking and transparency under a unified standard. Perhaps you could take on this ambitious challenge down the roadmap. 👍 I believe there is a blockchain-based project that attempts to do that, but I can't recall the name.

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9yr ago

@igoruphere I have to agree with this one. And I've to add, we live in a project-based economy now. That's not to say that some people don't give more value to diplomas. But as I see it, we are going to be moving increasingly in the direction of project-based economy.

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9yr ago

Great project, finally blockchain is in education.

Pros:

— True proof of existance

— Easy to use for universities

— Adds value to a certificate

Cons:

— It’s quite difficult to get ETH at the moment

— No clear certificate’s price, because of GAS floating price

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9yr ago

I think that the project is important for corporations and HR - in addition.

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9yr ago

Skarbe

Maker

Thanks! If you need any assistance on how to get ETH – please send us request, using the form on the website. We will help with consulting on the cert price as well.

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9yr ago

Hi, I wanted to see if you were open to allowing non-universities? We provide certification for clients to show they have reached certain levels of collaborative skills and would like to confer this to authenticated on the blockchain. Please advise.

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8yr ago

Skarbe

Maker

Hey hunters! According to Think: Education group about 30% of documents confirming professional qualifications are forged across the globe. Verification process of such documents sometimes is too difficult and expensive or employer does not find time for that. The reputation of educational institutions or individual teachers is at stake, as are the people who have to deal with an unskilled specialist. The team of Smartdiploma.io set a goal to solve the verification problem - an online platform appeared to confirm the applicant's educational certificate. Please check it out and feel free to share your thoughts with us!

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9yr ago

Smart Diploma

Maker

Hunters! That was an exciting pathway from hackathon to Product Hunt. We’re now working on the roadmap to bring even more value and safety to this world 🤟👨‍🚀. Happy to let you know that all our smart contracts are open source and available on github — https://github.com/SmartDiploma/... Looking forward for your comments and thoughts! 🏆🥇🥁

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9yr ago

Congrats on launch and being featured, we tried the same and one issue we hit was the price. As per your example certificate provided on your landing page, it appears like the cost is 0.01 Ether which is 4.**$. 4$ is too much price to pay for a single certificate(may be ok for a diploma). What do you think is a solution other than hosting your ethereum network

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9yr ago

Smart Diploma

Maker

Hi @dheeraj_kota. Thanks for your thoughts. Regarding your point about prices: The solution is open source and you can use it without our interface (smartdiploma.io), so all costs are limited gas price for the transaction. We are working on the price policy and collecting feedback from the market at the moment. Please contact us for more details: hello@smartdiploma.io

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9yr ago

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