At the very end of 2020, a decisive release for the implantation of the technological innovation, which promises to revolutionize the academic environment. This solution is the Digital Diploma, a solution developed by the National Education and Research Network (RNP) in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MEC), which enables generating, registering, authenticating and preserving the digital version of academic diplomas, in accordance with MEC standards and registered in blockchain. With the innovation, in addition to modernizing the diploma issuance processes and eliminating the issuance and the archiving of paper documents, it is possible to guarantee the authenticity of the digital diplomas and avoid any falsifications and irregularities. 

By the end of 2021, all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are expected to generate graduation diplomas  in the new format. To start the adaptation and the integration of the academic systems of HEIs to the solution, last Wednesday (12/16), the Digital Diploma Issuance Service and the National Validator Portal were launched. "Welcome, everyone, to this new time of innovation and digital transformation!", the Minister of Education, Milton Ribeiro, vibrated at the ceremony. The event marked the first stage of the Digital Diploma implementation, which will be completed upon the adhesion of all federal higher education institutions to the solution: 69 universities and 41 Professional and Technological Education institutions, according to MEC.

The ministry leader continued:

At the occasion, the Minister also announced that in 2021, two more electronic environments will be launched, also developed by RNP: "One for validation of documents issued by HEIs which have already subscribed to the digital diploma issuance and registration service, and another one  for visualization of academic records", he shared. 

The Higher Education Secretary, Wagner Vilas Boas, thanked the professionals of the institutions considered "key" for the success of the launch:
 

Nelson Simões, general director of RNP, represented the organization and stated that the solution is a combination of technology, competencies of the research groups of the Brazilian universities, invention and innovation.

The Federal Universities of Paraíba (UFPB) and Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) were pioneers. They are the first Brazilian institutions to implement the solution and are already able to issue the digital diplomas of the graduating students. At the event, a symbolic act made the launch official: Minister Milton Ribeiro validated the digital diploma of Vanessa Caroline Nascimento, the newest Bachelor of Science in Accounting, graduated from UFPB.

A demonstrative video shown at the ceremony, produced by UFRN, shows how the service works:

Less paper. More security, transparency, practicality and savings

The Digital Diploma solution guarantees more agility by modernizing the process of issuance and registration of graduation diplomas, eliminating the issuance and the archiving of paper documents. As the tool has digital certification, security controls and the digital diplomas are registered in blockchain, the authenticity of the diplomas is assured and avoids any falsifications and irregularities, a fundamental step in the digital revolution of the education in Brazil.

The integrity and the interoperability of the data is guaranteed and the interested parties are able to check the legitimacy of the generated documents, providing higher transparency. The cost reduction is another advantage: as the solution is contracted in scale, it becomes more economical. 

After the issuance, the digital diploma is securely stored in multiple replications in synchronized repositories for digital preservation in the issuing institution and in the cloud repository of MEC, which can be access whenever necessary, guaranteeing access to the diploma.

RNP works in the development of the National Validation Portal for storage and check of the digital diplomas of HEIs which are already integrated to the solution, the provision of necessary infrastructure for the storage and preservation of the diploma and associated documents, and the advisory support for the integration of the academic systems in HEI.