Blockchain for Education and Professional Development

Blockchain in Learning
& Career Development
Hristian Daskalov I Co-Founder of OS.UNIVERSITY
Ada. National College for Digital Skills
April 22nd I 14:00
Is the Future of Our Educational & Professional Identity on the Chain?

About Me
Hristian Daskalov
Project Lead
 Doctoral Candidate at the Technical University (Sofia)
Open Source Project Stakeholder Management
 Co-Founder of the Center for Open Science & Business
Development, Faculty of Management
 Policy Expert at Brain Workshop Institute
 Former Advisor to the Ministry of Economy,
Research & Development Specialization Strategy
 Former Member of the Expert Group on the
Development of OPNOIR 2014/20 Investment Program
 Former Strategy & Transformation Expert at Hewlett
Packard Enterprise

A strong social mission
Youth Speak Forum
Riga, Latvia
AIESEC Leadership Experience
Sao Paulo, Brazil

A research-driven agenda
Riga Technical University
Republic of Latvia, Spring 2017
Brno Technical University
Czech Republic, Autumn 2017

Find at www.os.university/book
Academia 4.0

Find at www.os.university/book
Industry 4.0

1. Introduction
2. Platform Overview
3. Problems & Solutions
4. Market Potential
5. Benefits & Use Cases
 Academia
 Businesses
 Learners
Contents
6. Technology Stack
7. State of Development
8. Community Building
9. Project Timeline
10. Meet the Team
 Core Development
 Advisors & Ambassadors
11. Additional Materials
 Executive Summary
 Resources

To Chain or not to Chain?
Can you articulate a
real business problem
that needs solving?
Could it have it been
fixed before
blockchains?
Do you need a
database?
Do many people need
to write to it?
Are writers known and
trusted?
Do you want to rely on
a trusted third party?
However, another DLT
solution might be
better, let’s see.
Do the benefits justify
the cost of the
adoption?
Do you need to
control read and write
access?
Do you value
censorship resistance
and immutability over
efficiency?
Are writers’ interests
unified?
Will all participants
need to upgrade and
replace systems?
You probably
don’t need a
blockchain.
You might
need a
blockchain...
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N N
Y Y
N
Y
N
N
N
Y
Y
Y N
You most
probably
need a
public
blockchain!
N
Y
Y
Is consensus
determined by
multiple entities?
N
Coordinate those
entities into a
consortium.
You might
need a
private
distributed
ledger.
Choose the
best
blockchain
or DLT
[hybrid]
Y
N

‘Internet of Things’ era is about collecting, connecting, and making sense of
data. We need a ‘Diploma of things’ mechanism to collect, connect and make
sense of learning. Therefore the distributed education and career
development ledger is what we work on at www.OS.UNIVERSITY.

EC JRC Research Findings
The recent report by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of
the European Commission describes case studies of
implementations from various players, but each of these
implementations is in a piloting phase.
“Even from these early pilots, it is possible to suggest
that blockchain has the potential to disrupt the
education market by loosening the control current
players have over this market in line with open
education’s sharing and transparency principles and by
empowering learners.”
This book highlights OS.UNIVERSITY as one of the earliest
and most prominent pilots, containing early research,

Single institution use case - authentication
of certificates I Groups of institutions -
shared repositories of accomplishments
and shared business models I National
database - state-regulated qualifications I
International database – credits’ transfer I
Global assessment I Reliable open badges,
MOOCs achievements I Smarter Hiring I
Continuing Professional Development –
poorly tracked, not mobile, underutilized I
…
Use Cases
Argentina pilot
Cyprus’ pilot

Photo credits: Learning Machine
Blockchain-based Educational & Professional Identity
“We envision a world in which the awarding
and validation of qualifications no longer
occur exclusively under the management of
an education institution or an employer and
individual students, teachers, and peers
take more ownership of the learning
experience and its outcomes (...)"
Prof. John Domingue,
Director of Open University’s
Knowledge Media Institute

Status Quo
 Half of workers encountered lies in
colleagues’ resumes.
 1/3rd of applicants removed due to
false information.
 30+ days per candidate on
reviewing experience, competences.
 Authenticity;
 Decentralizing Trust;
 Less Bureaucracy;
 Direct interaction;
 Security.
Why Blockchain?
Millions of pounds, months
spent by institutions and
individuals on verifying alumni
credentials on request.

OS.UNIVERSITY Overview
The OS.University DApp bridges the gap between
businesses and education through blockchain [used for
validating and verifying learners’ credentials] and smart
contracts [managing content purchases and other
marketplace transactions, as well as HR processes].
We apply open source technologies and principles of
collaboration to re-engineer the current-state educational
model by building a system to enable smarter
transactions of information & value through institutional,
national borders.

19
OS.University’s platform provides a searchable
catalogue of a broad range of courses and programs.
Global Catalogue of Courses
Businesses can reach out to content providers through a
marketplace, powered by reputation system. An “Amazon
for Learning” without “Amazon”, i.e. the middleman.
Tokenized Marketplace
Access to a new, higher quality educational model
with option to curate and customize programs,
optimised for results.
Flexibility & Modularity
Learner’s profile contains verified educational,
work experience, skills & qualifications track
record,
Credentials Wallet
Lack of organization in the online ocean of
education and development opportunities.
Dispersion of Content
A decades-old problem that can be solved
by information coordination, trust, and smart
contracts between the parties.
Business & Education Gap
Universities lack modernization & respond
slowly to job market needs; MOOCs gain
popularity, but lack credibility.
Strained Existing Model
Issues with fake diplomas, certifications,
unverified CVs and skillset claims.
Trust & Transparency
Problems & Solutions

Market Potential
B2L
B2A
L2A
According to Forbes, the online
education market alone is worth over
USD 165 billion (2016). Projected to reach
USD 240+ billion by 2023.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics up to 24% of workforce change
jobs annually.
In a recruitment market of USD 200+
billion, blockchain-verified profiles can
cut hiring period in half.
According to “Training Industry”, in 2017,
corporations estimated spending was
around USD 360+ billion – insourced and
outsourced corporate training initiatives.
According to “Academia 4.0 – University
on the Blockchain” research, the arising
‘’learning on demand” industry would
be best managed though smart
contracts, erasing the borders between
higher and further education.
Educational
Marketplace
Personal Identity,
Corporate
Recruitment
Corporate L&D

Academia Benefits
Universities & MOOCs
Generate opportunities by featuring content
Disclaimer: logos of service providers are for illustrational purposes and do not represent already completed integrations or signed partnerships.
Integration Benefits
Leaner, faster, transparent and cost-
effective credentialing model
Competitive market advantage, achieved
through the global blockchain-enhanced
learning and development marketplace
Higher learner retention and engagement
by gamifying the learning experiences
through smart contracts

Businesses Benefits
Recruitment & HR
Integration Benefits
Instant access to a global pool of talent
with traceable credentials, enabling
smarter recruitment
Performance-based hiring and career
advancement, enabled by smart contracts,
incentivized by rewardsand cost-effective
credentials model
Global opportunities for corporate
learning and development on demand
without scalability constraints
LMS
Employee
Rewards
Employee
Recognition
Hire smarter and faster; engage employees

Learners Benefits
Students & Employees
Adoption Benefits
Indisputable accomplishments and
achievements - validated and verified
through the blockchain, showcased
worldwide
Customized educational opportunities,
based on distributed learning pathways,
curated by Academia and businesses
Exclusive employment and professional
development options, based to
sophisticated matching algorithms
CVsCertificates
Recommendations
Traineeship
Validate accomplishments; verify achievements

These were just some of the smart contracts we start with.
Beyond them, the system has the potential to eliminate the
friction and costs of various current third-party intermediaries
when considering learners records management and other
personal identifiable information or sensitive data, whether it
comes to education or career development.
There are undisputable promises of improved data integrity,
reduced transaction costs, decentralization and disintermediation
of trust. By being able to coordinate, store, and share learners’
events, stakeholders essentially alleviate unnecessary and
duplicate services, which lowers cost and increases security.

State of Development
78%UI/UX
70%Front-End
61%Blockchain & Smart Contracts
47%Business Development & Partnerships
14%Onboarding Users
Alpha Release
The first release of the OS.University DApp is
scheduled for early June. Stats from the current
progress report can be found below:

Community Building
PILOT INTEGRATORS ACADEMIA LEARNERS BUSINESSES
Educational Marketplace University of Insurance & Finance
National Students Union;
Association of Bulgarian
Leaders & Entrepreneurs;
Bulgarian Association for
Management of People
[Featured in leading
university conferences and
journals in England, Czech
Republic, Latvia, Bulgaria]
IO Era Ltd;
ReChained Ltd
Self-Sovereign L&D
Identity
Technical University of Sofia Job Tiger;
Jamba
Hiring and Recruitment Mandalay International University Job Tiger Recruitment;
Investor Media Group
Corporate Learning &
Development
Brain Workshop Institute Cobden Partners;
Navigato
Each of our pilot integrators has an assigned key account manager and a represantative at the advisery/ambassadors’ board to assure smooth
implementation from system and business perspectives. Upon initial integrations, platform onboarding of organizations and end users will be open to
all (platform-as-a-service). Custom integrations and support services will be provided on demand to complement the open PaaS model.

Phase 1: Scientific Research and Concept Validation
Phase 3: Pilot Implementations and Market Penetration
Phase 2: Early Prototyping and Alfa Development
Phase 5: Revenue Generating Beta Release
Phase 4: EDU Token Circulation and Exchange
H2 2015 2016 H1 2017 H2 2017 H1 2018 H2 2018 2019 2020
The OS University project dates back to 2015, starting with a solid academic
research. A proof-of-concept phase was initiated, along with corporate
partners from Bulgarian industry and software development sectors,
resulting in early versions of system's architecture and design. Today there is
a dedicated research center at TU Sofia, turning OS.University into world’s
first academia-powered crypto crowdfunded project.
Project Timeline
Technical
University
Hewlett Packard
Enterprise
AIESEC
Ernst & Young
Ministry
of Education
& Science
Bulgarian
Information
Technology
Association Cobden Partners
Brain Workshop
Institute
University of
Insurance & Finance
Job Tiger
Job Tiger
Recruitment
Investor Media Group
National
Students
Union
A truly global
ecosystem of
educators, learners,
and business is
expanding on the
distributed
blockchains beyond
Ethereum.European
Commission
Jamba

Meet the Team
We are coming from various backgrounds - academic, entrepreneur, development - from large tech companies to startups.
Different, yet united, the Open Source University team forms a unique blend of technology R&D and business development talent.

 Join Our Team – Become an Ambassador
 Join the Project – Become an Early Adopter
 Jon the Cause – Share Your Ideas on the Future of Education and Jobs
 Stay Curious. Dream Big. Never Stop Learning
“The best way to predict your future is to create it”
Abraham Lincoln

hello@os.university
General:
hristian.daskalov@os.university
Me:
WWW.OS.UNIVERSITY

Additional Information
Many additional materials are collected and made available during the process of
building a Proof of Concept. Research materials has been peer-reviewed by the European
scientific community and featured in leading academic journals. From corporate and
social perspective, the R&D project has been recognized by international organizations as
the innovative solution to enable better information coordination relationships.

Executive Summary
LEGAL & FINANCIALS BUSINESS OPERATIONS MARKETING & COMMUNITY
Open and growing consortium of
London and Sofia - based
companies and universities.
An international team of 30+ academic and
corporate professionals, contributing from 10
countries on 3 continents,
Organically-grown community of 65,000
supporters throughout all social
networks. [join Telegram]
Rechained Ltd. (Republic of
Bulgaria) is the leading partner.
An in-house team of 7+ experienced technology
professionals and founders, dedicated on the
project.
The media group behind Bloomberg TV
in Bulgaria as a strategic media partner
and early adopter. [watch video]
USD 450,000 + raised in angel
investments, crypto crowdfunding,
public and research grants.
3 years of successful track-record from early
research, to concept validation, to prototyping,
development and early implementation.
Frist University crypto-crowdfunding
campaign. Partnership case-studies with
trusted companies [watch video]
Next: To raise equity funding round
beyond crowdfunding campaign.
Next: To expand the network of early adopters
globally with educational providers, corporate
clients, and user onboarding.
Next: To participate in international
blockchain, education and research
conferences to disseminate results.

Other PaaS Blockchain Projects
Track Record in EdTech
Peer-Reviewed
R&D Awards, Grants
Educational Marketplace
OS.University
Personal L&D Identity
Hiring and Recruitment
Corporate L&D
IndorseSkillchain BitDegreeOS.University
UniqueValuePropositionTraitsofExcellence
Comparison Property of PaaS
Est. May 2015
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
dedicated ed-tech center
academia, government
international & national
global; multi-vertical
formally verifiable
strategic recruitment partner
Est. Sep 2017
NO
PARTIAL
NO
YES
PARTIAL
NO
industry insiders
ICO conference award
formally verifiable
no strategic recruitment partner
Est. 2017
NO
YES
PARTIAL
own content only
NO
PARTIAL
NO
no affiliation
local hackathon
own learners only
Est. 2017
no affiliation
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
PARTIAL
non-formal only
early adopters

Resources
● Animated Video-Explainer of the Open Source University Platform [Official]
● Video Review of the Open Source University Campaign [Independent]
● “Hacking the Job Marketplace”, Blokt
● “These Innovative Startups Take Education to the Next Level”, Observer
● “OS University Project to Launch Global Social Innovation Platform”, Crowdfund Insider

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