Open Badge and digital certificates

The project

Ca' Foscari University is leveraging digital certifications, such as Open Badges and Blockcerts, to enhance the visibility of its students' skills. These certifications provide a more effective means for students to demonstrate their capabilities both during their studies and by participating in other activities, such as language courses, innovative teaching activities and other initiatives proposed by the University.
Open Badges are especially valuable for increasing visibility in the global market as they contain metadata that can replace the information that is typically reported in a traditional curriculum vitae. As a result, students can confidently rely on the digital certifications issued by the University to validate their skills.

 

What is an Open Badge?

Open Badges are a global, innovative and secure standard for the digital certification of acquired knowledge, skills and abilities.
Widely and internationally recognised by companies, universities, and educational institutions, Open Badges are digital certificates consisting of a visual element and structured metadata. Open Badges contain details about the issuing organisation and collect, in a personal and verifiable way, the activities performed, the objectives achieved, and how they were verified, making this information accessible to interested stakeholders.

What is a Blockcerts?

The Blockcerts standard, developed by the MIT Media Lab, enables a certificate to be digitally represented and securely stored on a blockchain. Once issued by an organisation, this digital certificate becomes the individual's property and can be verified at any time by anyone, without requiring confirmation from the issuing organisation. 
In addition to traditional certificates, Ca' Foscari uses blockchain technology to issue Blockcerts digital certificates for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. This ensures the authenticity and integrity of these credentials, making them tamper-proof and always available.

How to claim an Open Badge

Once your Open Badge has been awarded, you will receive an email from info@bestr.it - on behalf of Ca' Foscari University - inviting you to access the Bestr platform (which collects data on Open Badges) and to clailm and activate your Open Badge. To access bestr.it, use your University credentials or Public Digital Identity System (SPID).

Some Open Badges are assigned automatically: you will receive an email notification of the assignment.

Attention: you will still need to access the Bestr.it platform with your University or SPID credentials to download and use it. Add a personal email to your account via the "User Settings" command found in the top right menu of your Personal Area.

How to claim a Blockcerts

Once you have obtained your Bachelor's or Master's Degree Open Badge, you can manually claim the corresponding Blockcerts.
Click "Get Blockcerts" in the Award section of the Badge you just claimed and follow the instructions: download the Blockcerts Wallet app, launch it and save your passphrase, add the issuer by scanning the QR code provided on the English page, and wait for your Blockcerts to be notarised.
The process is not instantaneous: you will receive an email once completed, and the Blockcerts will be available in your Bestr profile.

How to share an Open Badge

Open Badges can be inserted into a digital curriculum vitae and shared on social networks to communicate acquired competencies in a clear, concise and certified way.
To share an Open Badge in a document, such as a curriculum vitae, you'll need to select the Badge in your personal area, download the image from the award page, insert it into the desired document and then add a hyperlink to the image using the assertion link.
It is also possible to add the Open Badge to your LinkedIn profile. Select the Badge in your personal area, click on "Add to your profile", log in to your LinkedIn profile and save the pre-filled Bestr form.
To share the Open Badge via email, you can simply share the assertion link found on the Badge's award page. This link directs to a public page where anyone can verify information about you and your Badge achievement.

Visit the blog.bestr.it for more information on Open Badges and Blockcerts or for technical guidance and news.

Open Badge issued by Ca' Foscari

Ca' Foscari University enhances the recognition of its graduates by providing traditional degree certificates and supplements diplomas, as well as issuing an Open Badge and Blockcerts for each Bachelor’s or Master's degree programme. These badges and certificates contain information about the holder's career and achievements.

A Minor is a complementary programme to a Bachelor’s Degree which allows you to broaden your main study field by developing cross-cutting skills that are useful both for your further education and for your career.

Advanced Courses are designed to deepen students’ understanding of topics deemed particularly significant and relevant to disseminate scientific knowledge, thus improving the skills acquired with the academic curriculum.

Ca' Foscari issues Open Badges in recognition of skills and abilities acquired through participation in projects, educational programme and activities in the various fields of university life, supporting each individual path.

The Human Resources Organisation and Development Office organises training and continuous learning courses for the University's technical-administrative and CEL staff. These training projects involve the discovery of new knowledge, skills, and competencies, encompassing both specialised and transversal areas, professional and behavioral aspects, and individual and collective development.

Ca’ Foscari Competency Centre (CFCC) does research, training and consulting activities in the area concerning the development and assessment of behavioral competencies (soft skills). The mission of the Ca’ Foscari Competency Centre is to improve the performance and the employability of people through the development of their behavioral competencies.

Ca' Foscari School for International Education (SIE) organises Italian language and culture courses, annual programmes preparatory to university enrolment, summer schools and summer courses.

The University Language Centre (Centro Linguistico di Ateneo - CLA) encourages foreign language learning as an essential element in every student’s university education and as an opportunity for lifelong learning for everyone.

Last update: 05/08/2025