The University of Melbourne, a public Australian university, has become the first academic institution in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to issue recipient-owned academic credentials on a blockchain.

Following an early pilot first revealed in May, the University of Melbourne is now storing and issuing student records on a blockchain where recipients will be able to access their academic credentials on a mobile application. The open-source mobile app, available for iOS and Android, will facilitate students to store and share their academic credentials, the university announced.

Professor Gregor Kennedy, pro-vice chancellor of teaching and learning at the university revealed the institution is “very excited that its exploration of a new way of providing students with credentials was successful.”.

He added:

While we are entirely committed to existing degrees and awards that the University offers, we are also interested in exploring how we can build a more diverse credentialing ecosystem…Issuing credentials on the blockchain is a key component of this investigation.