University of St. Gallen fights fake diplomas with blockchain

A leading Swiss university implements Certifaction to help fight fake diplomas. Watch the CNN Money video now.

The University of St. Gallen has taken up the fight against fake diplomas by implementing the latest technology – blockchain. Using Certifaction’s software they now secure their students’ diplomas on the blockchain, making them immutable and instantly verifiable.

In this interview by CNN Money, University of St. Gallen’s CIO Harald Rotter explains why they have decided to implement the solution at their institution following the lead of Prof. Dr. Fabian Schär’s Center of Innovative Finance at the University of Basel. Particularly people who have never heard of the University of St. Gallen, despite it being a leading business and law university, may wish to authenticate their alumni’s diplomas. This makes it a useful tool not just in Switzerland but also abroad.

A great pain that is alleviated for the university is the administrative burden that they have to verify diplomas for employers. By eliminating this burden they save a great deal of time in the future when verification requests are fulfilled instantly and automatically by the verifier themself.

When asked about who pays for this, Rotter answers that they currently cover the expense as they believe it is a benefit they can offer to their students and to differentiate themselves from other universities. “It is not our intention to make money with this” say Rotter, even if in the future the validation process is changed so that each verification costs a certain amount for the verifier. This is similar to background check companies verifying an applicant’s identity and qualifications for a fee.

Video source – CNN Money

University of St. Gallen verification page