Attores wants to speed up a typically-manual process of validating a diploma for businesses
Ngee Ann Polytechnic, one of Singapore’s tertiary polytechnic schools, is piloting a programme to issue diplomas via the blockchain — a first for the city-state.
The polytechnic is partnering with the Singaporean digital certificate startup Attores to white-label the service. Attores is using a private Ethereum Blockchain software to support the certifications, which is built by Parity Technologies.
The value of issuing diplomas via the blockchain is both security and convenience.
Security
In a conversation with e27, Attores CEO David Moskowitz said the main challenge of on-boarding a client like Ngee Ann is convincing them the system is secure. Universities are concerned about student data and ensuring it remains entirely within their system.
“[The service] will be hosted by Ngee Ann Poly, their URL. But in addition, it will be signed by their private key. So if [someone] were to somehow get access to their underlying blockchain, [they] would still not be able to sign transactions as the institution,” he explained.
Furthermore, blockchain benefits from a network effect and the irreversibility of the transaction becomes stronger as more institutions come on board. So, if someone tries to tamper with the information, it will not be reflected on the blockchain and companies can double-check its veracity.
This is a main reason why institutions like Ngee Ann would be more keen to pursue online certificates via the blockchain versus, say, DocuSign.
Finally, even if some catastrophe results in Ngee Ann’s system going down, a third party can hash the blockchain and verify that the document exists. Hashing is a way of marking data to find desired information quickly.
Convenience
While security is where blockchain-certificate clients focus their attention, the value-add comes from the convenience.
Attores CTO Gaurang Torvekar explained that the blockchain certificates speed up the process of employers verifying the degrees of potential hires.
“If they have a central, [de-centralised ledger] system with everyone on the same network, they can go in directly and check it,” he explains.
In many universities, a lot of time is spent manually fulfilling diploma verification requests from institutions like banks, governments and other regulated industries. With Attores, the company should be able to check the system directly without needing to contact a university official to help with the process.
“We issue over 4000 diploma certs and other kinds of certificates every year. The process of verifying the authenticity of certificates can be very manual. With blockchain, we can simplify this process, make it user-driven, and boost productivity,” said Mr Clarence Ti, Principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic in a statement.
“Not only will this help students effectively kickstart their career, employers also get them onboard with minimal hassle.”
The next logistical issue Attores needs to overcome is getting alumni into the system. For now, it will only apply to students graduating from today onwards.
For Attores, the deal with Ngee Ann marks a major deal for the startup and one that will have them pursuing the education sector in the near-to-mid future. Over the next six months, the company hopes to have agreements (at least for pilot programmes) with Singapore’s entire polytechnic network.
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Attores is an alumni company of the FinLab accelerator programme.
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