May 25, 2018 - This project explores how blockchain is transforming education with a focus on higher ed—vocational schools, community colleges, universities, and corporate training and development—from establishing student identity, protecting their privacy, financing their coursework, measuring their progress, and recording their credentials of achievement through open data exchange protocols. The development of microcredentialing capabilities, pay-as-you-learn funding models, and massively open online courses, plus the co-creation of open educational resources, are making the meta-university and lifelong learning affordable and accessible for more stu...

Apr 21, 2020 - This case study looks at the University Health Network’s process for analyzing blockchain use cases and narrowing efforts to design and test a use case for patient data. In consultation with IBM Canada, UHN decided to focus on providing patients with access to and control over their electronic medical and healthcare records. Ultimately, UHN leveraged the IBM Blockchain Platform, a permissioned blockchain environment developed by IBM and powered by Hyperledger Fabric.

Apr 22, 2019 - Updated in collaboration with the IBM Institute for Business Value, this project explores how blockchain is transforming education with an emphasis on lifelong learning and the reskilling of the workforce. It covers not just traditional educational institutions but also corporate training and development, where innovators are using blockchain to establish student identity, protect privacy, finance coursework, measure progress, and record badges of achievement and skills mastery. The implementation of microcredentialing capabilities, pay-as-you-learn funding models, and massively open online courses, plus the co-creation of open educational re...

Nov 17, 2018 - Rare is the case study that clearly lays out a plan of action for government officials serious about improving their services. Anthony Williams explores how blockchain can simplify and improve government efficiency in Canada by providing a single digital ledger for all accounts. He assesses the current general ledger system, compares it with best practices in Estonia, Sweden, and the United States, and proposes a blockchain-based solution. His analysis is not cheerleading; it is clear-headed. He lays out the relevant challenges and implementation costs including managing risk and connecting with existing policies and procedures. Canada has an...

Nov 10, 2017 - In this research, Park explains that transparency is a design choice. Whether the blockchain is public and permissionless, such as the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchains, or private and permissioned, such as Ripple or Hyperledger implementations, transactions are traceable with attribution of actions to identifiers. Therefore, the technology has a native high level of transparency. Users can still protect their privacy in both private and public blockchains: some methods are procedural and involve the smart usage of the protocol, whereas others are technological and use mathematics. Park argues for public disclosure even on permissioned blockcha...

Jan 12, 2018 - The healthcare systems of many countries work for neither the medical professionals nor the patients they serve. It is the only industry where innovation drives costs up. The problem ultimately resides in industrial-age thinking about healthcare delivery, where intermediaries hoard data, assume patient ignorance, and exclude anyone without insurance. This project flips the model: patients co-create and own their data, have full access to it, and can monetize it on the blockchain.