The client
Our client, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. RMIT is leading the way in higher education, shaping the lives of 95,000 students globally. RMIT is recognised for their strong programmes in Art and Design, Architecture, Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Systems, to name a few. Our client is dedicated to innovation and industry opportunities, and more recently, have widened their focus to implement developments globally.
The challenge
We engaged with RMIT and Microsoft to carry out a Proof of Value (PoV) to facilitate a smoother onboarding of students and provide an enhanced student experience. Our client required the following main changes; RMIT wanted student identification credentials stored in the Microsoft Authenticator App as part of the process of their 1st Azure AD login; To have student identification to verify discounts on campus, with the discounts to be used as an incentive to students to load their credential into the authenticator app; As well as this, they wanted Student training records and printing of certificates, and finally Alumni transcript issuing as part of employee onboarding.
As part of the PoV, Condatis were required to demonstrate three specific user journeys: issuing student cards; completion of training, verification and printing certificates; issuing and verifying alumni transcripts to onboard alumni as new employees.
The solution
Using the Microsoft Entra Verified ID technology stack, Condatis initiated and delivered three user journeys.
The first user journey: a student card being issued digitally through an Azure Active Directory login.
To incentivise students into verifying their identity, they received a discount upon verification. This solution allowed students to prove their university status for discounts at several campus locations such as the cafeteria or RMIT bookstore.
The second user journey: a student completes training and verifies to print their certificate.
This user journey met RMIT’s aim to demonstrate module attainment and other qualifications offered by the University. This journey allows students to add their qualifications to a digital wallet for verification.
This solution eliminated the common challenge faced in the industry – verifying alumni students after graduating from RMIT. As such, the final user journey permits non-enrolled former students to provide a verified status for them to access transcripts, improving employability, allowing students to exchange verified qualifications with new employers easily.
Benefits
Our three-step PoV provided value in several ways for RMIT:
- Verifiable credentials are cryptographically secure, enabling RMIT to build trust with their partners and employees.
- Students hold and self-manage the distribution of their data. Verifiers request only the information they need, and the students decide whether to provide it.
- Cost savings: support and maintenance costs are reduced.
- Ability to identify students in a widely distributed campus without the need for new or complex IT infrastructure. RMIT can integrate verifiable credentials technology into existing systems and processes.
- Speed of onboarding was a significant benefit of the project. Previously this took days and will now potentially take seconds, making this a high administrative cost and time-saving.
- Sustainability targets: removal of the need to issue plastic identity cards help RMIT reach sustainability targets.
- Self-managed privacy, students decide what information about themselves to supply and when.
- Students receive discounts and offers through proof of status.
- Students can retrieve and print official documentation, including their academic records, on-demand.
- Digitally verify qualifications as part of new employee onboarding.
- Build a trust framework between the University, students, partners, and employers as students move from learning into employment.