Abstract:

We live in a dynamic economy that competes for talent, this dynamism poses a unique challenge in which companies must manage the accreditation requirements, skills and competencies issued and certified by both formal and non-formal education (MOOC, companies, etc.) of constant change in order to remain competitive; this evidence that formal and non-formal alternative digital credentials are gaining greater importance in a labor market historically disconnected to academia where talent strategy has become one of the top corporate priorities. On the other hand, with higher university costs, many have questioned the value of traditional academic degrees, and this is amplified by the decline in public confidence in higher education. Many people consider digital credentials and micro credentials to be still emerging practices in higher education, we find numerous institutions committed to efforts to leverage technology and standards, various challenges such as: adoption practices, thinking oriented to rigid training programs and unfocused value expectations persist and hinder opportunities to generate real synergy between universities, companies, industry and government in what has been termed as "Verifiable Credential Ecosystem".

This article aims to describe the students' experience in a subject where digital certificates with Blockchain are issued; from the identification of best practices in experiences in the implementation of alternative digital credentials issued by universities and companies; in addition to the description of standards, technologies and suppliers that guarantee and validate such issuance. The application of instruments such as Likert surveys allows us to describe the level of appreciation of students' experience with the credentialization system implemented. The paper affirms the potential of safe and valid issuance to recognize the achievement of some capacity or competence issued from an educational institution and that opens up employment opportunities through alternative digital credentials.

Keywords:

Alternative Digital Credentials, Verifiable Credential Ecosystem, Blockchain, Credential, formal education, non-formal education.