Digital Microcredentials · Open Badges 3.0

Digital Microcredentials that validate real learning

POK - Proof of Knowledge is the platform for issuing digital microcredentials on blockchain, compatible with Open Badges 3.0 and W3C Verifiable Credentials. Free unlimited plan · paid plans with NFT blockchain. 1,100+ institutions across 19 countries.
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✓ Free unlimited plan · ✓ NFT blockchain credentials · ✓ No annual contracts

U

Demo University

Issued via POK

✓ Verified
🏅

Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence

Microcredential — Intermediate Level

Awarded to

John Doe

Date

Apr 2025

Standard

Open Badges 3.0

Hours

40 hs

+1.5M

Credentials issued

+1,100

Active institutions

19

Countries

Top 100

HolonIQ EdTech LA

Definition

What are digital microcredentials?

Digital certificates that prove a specific skill. They don't replace a degree — they fill in what a degree leaves out: smaller, sharper, verified in seconds.
🎯

Specific, not generic

They certify one skill —a workshop, a short course, a competency— instead of a full program.

🔗

Impossible to fake

They live on blockchain. Anyone can verify one with a link, no phone calls or paperwork.

🌍

Open standards

Open Badges 3.0 and W3C Verifiable Credentials. The same ones universities and employers use worldwide.

📱

They live where the holder wants

Posted to LinkedIn in one click, pasted into a CV, added to a portfolio. Not trapped inside a PDF.

🐍

Python for Data Science

Technology Institute

☁️

Basic Cloud Computing

Virtual University

🤖

Applied Generative AI

POK Academy

Platform

Everything you need to certify learning

Design the credential, issue it, track what happens after. All in one place, no jumping between tools.
🎨

Branded design

Customize templates with your logo, institutional colors, typography, and digital signatures to keep visual consistency across every credential issued.

⚡

Bulk issuance

Issue thousands of credentials in a single step via CSV upload, API integration, or direct LMS connection, without manual processes or errors.

🔒

Blockchain verification

Each credential is immutably recorded. Impossible to falsify, verifiable at any time.

📊

Detailed analytics

Measure issuance, opening, verification, and social sharing rates with a dashboard consolidating each program's performance in real time.

🔌

Native integrations

Connect with Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard and more via REST API or webhooks.

🌐

Student wallet

Each student receives their own digital wallet to store, organize, and share verifiable credentials from any device, independently of the institution.

🏷️

Learning paths

Design stacked learning pathways where each microcredential builds toward larger certifications, recognizing the student's cumulative progress.

📧

Automatic notifications

Send automatic emails to students when a credential is issued, expired, or updated, with customizable templates and built-in delivery tracking.

🌍

White label

Deploy the verification portal and wallet under your own domain and brand, delivering a unified experience with no visible references to POK.

Applications

Who uses POK microcredentials?

Universities, training academies, companies upskilling their teams, public agencies. If you recognize learning, it works for you.

Higher Education

Universities & Institutes

Complement traditional degrees with micro-certifications for courses, projects or transversal competencies.

Short courses
Final projects
Workshops
Soft skills
Corporate Training

Companies & HR

Certify employee upskilling with visible and verifiable credentials. Improve retention and engagement with internal learning.

Onboarding
Internal certifications
Compliance
Leadership
EdTech & Online

E-learning Platforms

Online course platforms that issue thousands of automated completion certificates, with direct API integration and immediate public verification.

MOOCs
Bootcamps
Online academies
Certifications
Government & Public

Public Organizations

Ministries, secretariats, and government bodies issuing official records and certifications with blockchain traceability and transparent citizen-facing verification.

State training
Public health
Digital inclusion
Associations

Professional Colleges

Professional associations and boards that accredit licenses, specializations, and continuing education, replacing physical membership cards with verifiable digital credentials.

CPD / CEC
Accreditations
Memberships
Communities

Communities & NGOs

NGOs and educational communities that recognize volunteering, social programs, and informal learning with portable credentials that are free for the recipient.

Volunteering
Community workshops
Informal learning

Standards & Certifications

Built on open standards

POK credentials can be read and verified on any platform that speaks Open Badges or W3C. No lock-in.
🏅

Open Badges 3.0 (1EdTech)

The most widely adopted open standard for digital credentials. Enables portability between compatible platforms and wallets.

🌐

W3C Verifiable Credentials

W3C standard for decentralized, cryptographically verifiable credentials. Foundation of the future's digital identity.

🎓

ELM (European Learning Model / Europass)

European standard that enables credential recognition across Europe — essential for institutions with international students.

🔗

Google Wallet & Apple Wallet

Recipients can add their credentials directly to Google Wallet and Apple Wallet with a single click.

🛡️

ISO 27001 & SOC 2

POK is certified under ISO 27001 and SOC 2 — independently audited security standards for data protection and access management, required by institutions in regulated sectors.

Frequently asked questions

A PDF is essentially an image of a document — anyone with basic software can edit it. A microcredential has its authenticity cryptographically recorded: if someone alters even a single character, verification detects it instantly. It also carries metadata about what the holder learned, who issued it, and when — information a PDF simply can't contain reliably.

The idea is simple: instead of one big credential at the end of a long program, learners accumulate small verifiable credentials for each module or skill they master. In POK you can build learning paths where each step generates its own microcredential, and completing the full path automatically unlocks a larger credential. It's the model many universities are adopting for continuing education — learners don't have to wait two years to have something to show.

It depends on what you need. You can issue them without expiration — ideal for academic achievements that don't go stale — or with a deadline for certifications that require renewal, like safety standards or compliance. When one expires, it shows as expired in the public verification. You're in control.

It can't be lost — that's part of the point. It's stored on the platform and accessible via the same link forever. If the student can't find the original email, they can access it from their POK wallet. For NFT credentials, it lives on blockchain: even if POK disappeared, the credential wouldn't.

The simplest way is uploading a spreadsheet with recipient data — POK issues everything in seconds and each person receives their credential by email. If you want to automate it entirely, connect POK to your LMS or CRM and credentials are issued automatically when a student completes a course. No manual work, no emails to forget sending.

Think of them as three levels of the same thing. A PDF is the most basic: easy to forge, no embedded data. A badge is the digital version: an image with metadata saying who issued it and what it represents. A microcredential goes further: it includes concrete evidence, assessment criteria, and a cryptographic signature. At POK we issue microcredentials that are technically Open Badges 3.0 — you get verifiability, visual portability, and rich information all in one.

Mainly three contexts: universities that want to certify short courses without issuing a full degree, companies that need to document that their team learned something specific, and governments with large-scale training programs. MOOCs and e-learning platforms are increasingly adopting them too, because they let learners walk away with something verifiable. At POK we work across all four, with 1,100+ institutions in 19 countries.

Depends what you mean by recognition. If you're asking whether an employer in Germany can verify the credential is real — yes, because we follow the Open Badges 3.0 standard that any modern system understands, and we're Europass-compatible. If you're asking about formal academic equivalence between countries — that varies by legislation and is independent of any platform. What we can guarantee is that the credential is verifiable anywhere in the world.

The question institutions care about most is: how many of the people who received a credential actually shared it? That tells you whether students find it valuable. POK's dashboard shows you that, plus where people drop off in a learning path and some employability impact metrics. It's not deep academic analytics, but it's enough to decide which programs are worth continuing and which ones need rethinking.

They're not competing — they complement each other. A degree says 'this person studied four years of this field.' A microcredential says 'this person can do this specific thing.' An employer looking for Python skills doesn't need to know you studied Engineering — they need to know you can write the code. The most forward-thinking universities already use both: the degree as a foundation and microcredentials to certify specific skills along the way.
See more frequently asked questions

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