{Startup watch: Snapper Future Tech} Impacting education through a blockchain based academic credential verification platform

This blockchain company is impacting the education sector through an academic credential verification platform and an institute to create future blockchain professionals.

In January this year, Manav Bharti University (MBU) of Solan in Himachal Pradesh has been in the eye of the storm as a decade old scam was exposed regarding issuance of fake degrees numbering into more than 36,000 to students across 17 states in India. Consequence? The Institute´s graduates placed around the world are being asked by employers to prove that their qualifications are authentic.

Recently, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) launched an inquiry against six universities for allegedly selling fake degrees.

Read more: {Startup Watch: Practically} An EdTech app that brings STEM learning with immersive videos interactive AR and 3D simulations

One of the biggest worries in the education sector today is the rampant use of fraudulent qualifications and degrees. There seems to be no way to determine fake degrees from the genuine ones, because of which Indian degrees are not completely trusted by some authorities in the education sector.

Snapper Future Tech (SFT) is a global services and technology products company, leading digital transformation for enterprises using blockchain. It offers services in blockchain application development, training and consulting, and an innovative suite of specialized products for e-governance, financial services, insurance, sustainable supply chain, and healthcare.

SnapCert.io is their blockchain-based credential verification platform that digitally verifies credentials issued by schools, colleges, and universities to make them tamper proof.

The Tech Panda spoke to Darshana Jain, CEO of SFT, who says that blockchain can solve the issue of fake degrees very simply.

A blockchain based credential verification not only takes away current inefficiencies, it also establishes sound provenance of the records

“This kind of fraud undermines those that have legitimately earned their degrees through intelligence and hard work, in turn taking away their jobs. It is also risking many lives in cases where one has procured a fake pilot or doctor degree, for example. India should be seen as a country that can produce superior talent and for that the credibility of all degrees needs to be established,” she says.

“A blockchain based credential verification not only takes away current inefficiencies, it also establishes sound provenance of the records,” she adds.

SnapCert.io

The platform facilitates student ownership and validates academic records, thereby deterring and discouraging the circulation of fraudulent degrees, records, and documents that are increasingly becoming common in the education sector. Students can create an academic wallet for their certificates which can further be shared seamlessly with employers, consulates, or universities.

Data sharing is one of the biggest pain points, and using this SaaS platform, universities and colleges can retain their own data while being assured of global data protection standards

“Data sharing is one of the biggest pain points, and using this SaaS platform, universities and colleges can retain their own data while being assured of global data protection standards,” Jain explains.

The platform makes the current process of verification fully automated and trusted. There is no capital expenditure towards technology, and it is available as a SaaS model.

“We are also offering micro-credentials in the next phase, which will enable portable, stackable mini credentials to be issued by universities,” she adds.

Indian Blockchain Institute

The Indian Blockchain Institute (IBI) is an education and training arm of SFT, established in 2017. Established for creating future blockchain professionals through immersive ILT, VILT, and self-paced methodologies, the courses for Hyperledger and Ethereum range from Foundation (101) to Expert (104).

To be part of a technology that will define the next generation of tech, at the brink of mass adoption, is exciting. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that had to be grabbed

IBI has been instrumental in creating blockchain specialized curriculum for B-tech and M-tech University degree program augmentation. Its customized corporate training modules cater to capacity building for blockchain projects in national and multi-national companies.

Origin 

SFT was founded by Naresh Jain, Prashant Surana, and Avnish Gupta in 2017, when the market was still nascent. Jain became a partner in 2020 because of her belief that blockchain will become the foundation of every enterprise’s digital transformation.

“To be part of a technology that will define the next generation of tech, at the brink of mass adoption, is exciting. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that had to be grabbed,” she says.

Growth Story

The three-and-a-half-year-old company has already raised fundings of US$544,000 for product enhancement and go-to-market strategies. They have invested in capacity building and technology partnerships for accelerating their blockchain development services business. For this year, they are projecting US$1 million in revenues. Also, this month, their EMEA offices became operational in Ireland.

A Hyperledger Certified Service Provider (HCSP) and Training partner (HTP), the company participates in open-source initiatives across the globe and has robust technological alliances and partnerships with Hyperledger, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Trust over IP, and Sovrin.

“Some of our clients are blockchain enabling their existing systems. There is a growing number of emerging blockchain protocols, partnerships among IoT device providers, which indicates that blockchain is a good fit in the IoT sector. We are exploring that for our customers,” says Jain.

Read more: Supreme Incubator: Entrepreneur sisters empower early-stage Indian startups in Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities

In addition, recently, APIARY, the Centre of Excellence established by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and STPI has chosen SFT as partners for the credential verification platform.

“We have created a revenue model for universities and have also fulfilled the government requirement of the National Academic Repository,” she adds.