A new form of digital credential called Digital Open Badge will spread to Kyung Hee University (KHU) from 2026 to reflect today's expanding learning experiences across diverse fields. 

By 2027, it will be used as a competency certification tool encompassing all curricular and extracurricular activities.

The Digital Open Badge is a futuristic educational model that integrates learning experiences and achievements, connecting them to official certification. KHU is pursuing change and innovation in the educational field through digital badges. 

Concept of Digital Open Badges

According to the "Study on how to activate digital badges" released by the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS), digital badges certify learners' skills and knowledge in digital form. 

They serve as a tool that can overcome the limitations of security and usability inherent in traditional paper-based certificates. Digital badges can go beyond simple achievement certification and contribute to make learners’ experiences more transparent, thereby motivating learning and expanding applicability in the job market.

Among digital badges, those certified by 1Edtech are called Open Badges. Currently, the Open Badge is the international standard for educational digital badges and is utilized as a qualification credential by various universities and public institutions.

In the case of a university, if the acquisition condition is satisfied, the university's digital badge is issued and sent to the student's email. Students who receive the badge through the attachment file of the mail can use it by putting a link to the digital badge on social media, resume, and portfolios. 

Digital Open Badges are provided as international standard digital certificates based on blockchain technology, overcoming issues of tamperability and storage inconvenience.

Introduction of Digital Open Badges in Korea

Digital Open Badges have already been introduced in Korea since 2021. The Korea Employment Agency utilizes Digital Open Badges in its education certification process. The Ministry of Education awards Digital Badges to teachers who complete teacher training programs.

In April 2024, the KERIS proposed a project to build a blockchain-based digital badge platform for higher and lifelong education and announced that it would play the role of a badge issuing and verification entity. 

Sungkyunkwan University began issuing digital badges to undergraduate students in 2024 and provides a digital badge wallet service to facilitate badge management. Hanyang University is enhancing credibility by issuing badges to students who complete e-learning courses developed based on the 10 competency groups of the National Competency Standards for foundational job skills.

KHU's Education Innovation Project Team is aiming for digital and AI transformation through its education innovation initiatives to adapt to the evolving learning environment. Its core objective is to foster a Digital Open Badge ecosystem.

Director Lee Won-gu of the KHU Education Innovation Project stated, “By integrating Digital Open Badges with AI analytics technology, we aim to continuously enhance student competencies and maximize the effectiveness of purpose-driven learning.”

The goal of KHU's Digital Open Badges is to visualize students' self-directed learning journeys and establish themselves as a reliable official means of competency certification recognized externally.

KHU's Efforts to Introduce Digital Open Badges

KHU is trying to create unique teaching models through its ‘digital and AI transformation based EdTech educational infrastructure,’ which materializes changes and innovations in the educational field through digital transformation and AI technology. Digital badges are linked to this innovation and are planned to be fully activated in 2027, following a phase of expansion in 2026.

Starting in 2025, KHU began systematically managing student learning data by establishing Phase 1 of its learning experience platform and introducing an AI-based class feedback system. In 2026, it plans to provide AI-based personalized learning diagnostics and real-time feedback for students, while accelerating the creation of a data-driven smart campus.

Digital Open Badges will be integrated and utilized alongside this AI-based learning. Since 2025, approximately 7,000 badges have been issued by the Kyung Hee Innovation Center, the Center for Teaching & Learning, and the School of Global Eminence. Following an on-campus expansion phase in 2026, a comprehensive digital badge issuance system covering all curricular and extracurricular activities is scheduled to be fully operationalized in 2027.

KHU held a ‘Digital Open Badge Name & Design Contest’ for enrolled students from May to September this year to encourage student interest and participation. As a result, six entries were selected for first to third place in both the name and design categories. The name “KHUration,” combining KHU and curation, was ultimately chosen. It signifies curating one's activities, organizing them, collecting badges, and thereby completing the person “me.”

Through Digital Open Badges, students will be able to visualize their self-directed learning journeys, encompassing diverse learning experiences and histories that are difficult to showcase solely through certificates and diplomas, thereby enabling them to demonstrate their competencies in a way that is externally recognized.