HSE University Graduates to Be Able to Receive Diplomas in NFT Format

HSE University and the social network VK are launching a pilot project to issue NFT diplomas. The diplomas will take the form of digital images with programmed metadata about the graduate, their educational programme, and year of graduation. Graduates of 38 continuing professional education programmes at the Faculty of Law from 2019–2023 will be the first to receive such diplomas. Based on the results of the pilot project, the possibility of implementing the innovation in other faculties and educational programmes will be considered.

NFT diplomas are an additional option for graduates that will allow them to confirm their qualifications in the online space as well.

‘One of the main advantages of the NFT diploma project is the possibility to create safe, reliable electronic documents that are protected from forgery and falsification, while blockchain technology guarantees the integrity and immutability of the data contained in them,’ explains Vadim Vinogradov, Dean of HSE University’s Faculty of Law. ‘It will now be easier for graduates to confirm their successful completion of our continuing professional education programmes and publish this information on social networks. This, in turn, will make them more visible to potential employers.’

According to the dean, information technology plays an increasingly important role in the modern world, and the faculty can be proud that its students and teachers are at the forefront of digital development. ‘The NFT project represents another opportunity for us to participate in the development of the Russian digital economy,’ he adds.

‘We are glad that more and more universities are joining our NFT diploma project. Thanks to the integration of this technology into a social network, graduates have the opportunity to show in their profile that they have actually graduated from a university and mastered new knowledge. A diploma in this format cannot be faked, and employers can access it from anywhere in the world. We will continue to develop NFT diploma technology so that users can confirm other achievements, such as courses completed or awards received,’ said VK NFT Product Manager Ivan Boychenko.

The Faculty of Law and the Operations Office for Continuing Professional Education are launching the project in test mode with advanced training and professional retraining programmes. To participate in it, graduates of HSE University’s continuing professional education programmes who have received educational documents between 2019 and 2023 have to fill out a form. After some time, instructions for activating the diploma and a unique code will be sent to the email address provided. Once the activation process is complete, confirmation that they are indeed graduates of specific programmes will appear in their profiles.

According to HSE University Deputy First Vice Rector Galina Mozhaeva, this project will be useful to graduates of the university’s continuing professional education programmes, as it will allow them to save their achievements in a secure digital format and easily demonstrate their qualifications when communicating with potential employers or other interested parties. Additionally, NFT diplomas can attract employers, increasing the chances of a successful career.

‘The project is also important for the continuing professional education system of our university overall. The system is confidently developing digital services, and from January 2024, it is moving to a new digital platform where it will be possible in the future to integrate the service for obtaining NFT diplomas into the personal accounts of students of continuing professional education programmes on HSE University’s educational marketplace,’ says Galina Mozhaeva.