Blockchained education: challenging the long-standing model of academic institutions

The model of higher education institutions has remained widely unchallenged over time. Although study topics keep evolving and the inclusion of increasingly sophisticated technologies have revolutionised the format of lectures and learning experiences. Their value chain remains unchanged, with institutions acting as intermediaries, between professors (knowledge) and students (recipients), and as central authorities granting and validating student knowledge. The work here presented is a review of blockchain technology and its application in education, emphasising the opportunities for disrupting the current value chain of academic institutions. Blockchain technology’s prime novelty constitutes an incorruptible digital ledger of transactions, capable of recording virtually any nature of value exchange. When coupled with other emerging technologies such as the internet of things and big data, new paths for the decentralised exchange of education and recording of knowledge and skills appear. The result is an extensive analysis of the evolution of blockchain technology for education applications, along with a forecast of plausible scenarios of disruption for academic institutions. Blockchain technology is steadily advancing at accelerating rates; applications aimed at decentralising educational institutions are already available. Meanwhile, the technology keeps gaining momentum in a growing base of adepts.