The Blockchain Innovation Challenge will fund teams that create solutions to help underserved learners share their skills with employers
ACE today announced that it will begin accepting applications for the Blockchain Innovation Challenge, a $900,000 competition that is designed to identify solutions that harness the potential of distributed ledger technology to help underserved learners take control of and communicate their skills.
“The pandemic is exacerbating endemic inequities at the intersection of education and employment. Blockchain has the potential to help individuals—and institutions—bridge the divide between educational experiences and economic opportunity,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “Now more than ever we must encourage creativity and experimentation and be willing to test innovations that could equitably help people better develop and share their skills.”
The Blockchain Innovation Challenge is the second stage of the Education Blockchain Initiative, an ambitious U.S. Department of Education effort to explore how nascent technology can be harnessed to boost economic mobility for underserved populations by enabling individual ownership and use of education records. The competition is informed by “Connected Impact: Unlocking Education and Workforce Opportunity Through Blockchain,” a recent report that identified 71 active blockchain efforts across K-12 and higher education. Many of those efforts focused on documenting, validating, and sharing skills and credentials.