The City University of Hong Kong partnering with Deloitte and FORMS to build a Blockchain platform for academic credential verification

Published: 6 December 2019

For employers, verifying the academic credentials of new hires is essential—yet it is also an effortful and lengthy process. But it need not be. By putting all academic certificates on a distributed and tamper-proof ledger, academic institutions can let employers verify the qualifications of job candidates autonomously, speedily and with minimal effort.

The City University of Hong Kong, Deloitte, and FORMS recently partnered to develop a credential ledger system in Hong Kong, using blockchain. The system is permission-based, allowing only registered educational bodies to submit certificates, and allowing only authorized employers to verify applicants’ academic certificates.

Christian Wagner, Chief Information Officer at the City University of Hong Kong explains, "Academic credential issuance is common concern among academic institutions while credential verification is a problem for any organization. CityU, with its partners, aimed to setup a platform to address the need for efficient and secure credential dissemination that gives graduates control over who can see their records and who cannot.  In the next phase, we intend to release application programming interfaces (APIs) that facilitate tighter integration with enterprise systems."

Paul Sin, Partner of Deloitte Asia Pacific Blockchain Lab points out, "Distributed Ledger Technology has been proven to allow cross-industry and cross-border synchronization of sensitive information while protecting users’ data privacy.  Its ability to verify certifications not only reduces cost and fraud for employers, but in future will also open up many new job opportunities for graduates across the Greater Bay Area."

Alex Chan, the Chief Executive Officer of FORMS HK observes, "Innovation is indeed a competition for talents. Employers are looking for a faster and smarter way to acquire the best individuals available. Likewise, candidates are searching for employers who are embracing an innovative culture. As a fast growing FinTech enterprise, FORMS is excited to co-create this talents acquisition platform with CityU and Deloitte. Given our own experience in the Greater Bay Area, we believe this platform will create substantial values to employers, candidates and academia."

Going forward, the aim is for a large number of organizations to use the ledger system, so as to create a platform where employers and other stakeholders can verify most applicant certificates autonomously and efficiently.

_{About the City University of Hong Kong
CityU is known for its world-class research, professional education and its innovative approaches to address global issues and empower positive change. Each year, CityU graduates more than 10,000 students at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels from a broad range of disciplines. In 2019-20, CityU is ranked globally as 52nd (QS) and 126th (THE).}

_{About FORMS HK
FORMS Syntron Information (HK) Ltd. (“FORMS HK”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of SZ Forms Syntron Information Co, Ltd. (“FORMS”) which is listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZ.300468). FORMS is a leading global FinTech thought-leader, incubator and enabler with industry top talents and cutting-edge technology.}

_{FORMS is the first Hyperledger official member in Hong Kong. FORMS is also the founding member of Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium (“FISCO”) and FISCO BCOS open source working group.}

_{Today, FORMS is proud to be the leading technology provider to the virtual banks in Hong Kong. More than 2,000 FinTech professionals at FORMS are committed to making financial services faster, smarter, better and safer.}