Edubadges
Edubadges are digital insignia (images) that show you have acquired certain skills or knowledge. Edubadges are awarded digitally via the secure and reliable SURF platform. Within the pilot project edubadges, Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning tests the award of edubadges for courses from Utrecht University and examines their added value.
Edubadges are digital certificates that show you have acquired certain skills or knowledge. Students or professionals can receive an edubadge for courses at Utrecht University, to prove that they have gained specific knowledge or skills. Learners can then share the edubadges digitally, for example via LinkedIn. The badge includes non-reproducible and un-editable information about the institution that awarded the badge, the learning goals of the course and what the recipient had to do to receive the edubadge. This allows a future employer to verify the badge, which makes it more reliable.
Edubadges are awarded digitally via the secure and reliable SURF platform. Teachers or workshop instructors can use the platform to create and award edubadges. Students and other learners can receive edubadges via the platform and share them online.
The edubadges issued by SURF are linked to a personal eduID, which allows learners to use their identity across all higher education institutions in the Netherlands. Even after you graduate, or switch to another university, you can continue to use your eduID to receive edubadges. This allows you to continue your professional development.
There are several reasons to issue edubadges. Some of the potential benefits are listed below.
- Opportunities in the job market
With edubadges, students can show their skills and knowledge at a glance, which can enhance the transition from university to the labour market. Students who have completed their studies can thus easily demonstrate their knowledge and skills to future employers. Also, edubadges allow students to share their knowledge and skills with the outside world already during their studies. - Make higher education more flexible
Edubadges can make it easier to switch between study programmes, for example by granting exemptions for skills and knowledge students have already acquired. They can also contribute to making education more modular: offering education in smaller, flexible units. - Life-long Development
Graduates continue to develop themselves; professionals strive to maintain and/or further improve their knowledge and skills over the course of their careers. Edubadges can facilitate this, because they are linked to a new cross-institutional identity, eduID, which remains available after graduation and lasts a lifetime. This system makes it possible to continue collecting Edubadges, even after graduation.
The Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning is currently conducting a pilot project for edubadges, with in which the award of edubadges is being tested of a small scale. The project uses a bottom-up approach; UU staff or teachers can request a pilot project to test the use of edubadges in their teaching practice.
In the pilot project, CAT awards edubadges in three domains:
- Education for students (focus: extracurricular)
- Teacher development
- Continuing education (Lifelong Learning)
The goal of the pilot project is to gain more knowledge and experience with issuing edubadges within Utrecht University. We examine what is needed to optimise the request and award process for badge users, how we can offer the right support in the badge process, and what the benefits of edubadges are according to teaching staff, students and other learners.
We will use the experiences gained during the pilot project to write and advice report that can be used to decide how to continue with edubadges within this university.
If you’d like to try issuing edubadges for your course, please feel free to contact the edubadges project leader via Teaching Support. We will then schedule an intake interview to discuss the conditions and steps for starting your own pilot project.
Would you like to know more about edubadges? Then please contact the edubadges project leader via Teaching Support.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
The terms ‘edubadges’ and ‘microcredentials’ are increasingly mentioned in the higher education community. These terms are often used interchangeably, but there are some significant differences between edubadges and microcredentials. The main difference is:
Edubadges are digital certificates containing information about the course or workshop. Microcredentials actually have an acknowledged value, which is similar to a Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma. An edubadge can be awarded as a microcredential, but not all edubadges are microcredentials. This is because edubadges are also issued for extracurricular and non-formal education.
At the moment, it is not yet possible to award microcredentials at Utrecht University, because of the lack of a legal framework. Together with other higher education institutions in the Netherlands the University Utrecht, explores ways to make it possible to award microcredentials in the future within the pilot microcredentials.
No, you can’t just issue an edubadge for any type of education. The guidelines that Utrecht University has drawn up for edubadges state that edubadges can only be awarded for courses that have:
- predetermined learning objectives
- predetermined learning activities which align with the learning objectives
- if there is assessment, assessment that is consistent with the learning objectives and learning activities
If you want to request a pilot with edubadges, an intake meeting with the edubadges project leader will take place first. During this meeting, we will see if the above guideline can be met. In this way, we prevent edubadges from being issued for anything and safeguard the value of edubadges.