In the beginning it was just a small collection of computers in a decentralized manner. Then it developed so much that every company started having their own data centers and made it a complete centralized entity. Nowadays, the internet serves various purposes and is already doing great. However, if we look at the internet of today in the long run, we’ll find a fault in the system. It’s heavily centralized, giving the power to huge data giants which would lead to restrictions of our freedom. The only solution to this problem is decentralization which not only saves privacy, but also opens a door for a whole lot of innovations and opportunities.
Open Source University as the name suggest is a decentralized open source project which aims to extend the boundary of education beyond institutional limitation. It brings the power of decentralization to the field of education so that anyone can have access to a whole bunch of study materials from any part of the world. It not only helps learners to learn effectively, but also academia and business to find appropriate learners effectively from all over the world.
From the early 2017, the true potential of a decentralized system has been realized and visible to many people out there. We’ve seen a lot of decentralized projects that aim to solve a wide variety of problems. Some of them have already been successful, while many of them have started their prototype and are on their way to complete the vision what they have set as a purpose. Open Source University is one of the futuristic projects with the same decentralized notion that has a great aim to revolutionize the education industry. What makes it different from others is that it aims to contribute to the education industry by bringing the learners, businesses and academia together while implementing the features of blockchain and decentralization. Education is something that is now mainly concentrated within institutional borders. Open Source University is the project that’s going to disrupt this.
We solve the following problems: Dispersion of Content Lack of organization in the online ocean of education and development opportunities. Global Catalogue of Courses OS.University’s platform provides a searchable catalogue of a broad range of courses and programs. Strained Existing Model Universities lack modernization & respond slowly to job market needs; MOOCs gain popularity, but lack credibility. Flexibility & Modularity Access to a new, higher quality educational model with option to curate and customize programs, optimised for results. Trust & Transparency Issues with fake diplomas, certifications, unverified CVs and skillset claims. Credentials Wallet The learner’s profile contains verified educational, work experience, skills & qualifications track record, Business & Education Gap A decades-old problem that can be solved by information coordination, trust, and smart contracts between the parties. Tokenized Marketplace Businesses can reach out to content providers through a marketplace, powered by a reputable system. Optimization of corporate L&D costs. The OS.University platform provides a systematic response to a seemingly unrelated set of challenges in learning and development: ○ Robots and automation to replace up to 30% of jobs by 2025, according to BBC. 35% of core employment skills will change between 2015-2020, according to the World Economic Forum. ○ At present, employers spend over a month and up to thousands of dollars on verifying employee credentials, according to industry-wide research. In more than 50% of the cases there are unreliable or false claims. ©2018 The Open Source University | Whitepaper 4 ○ 30+ million U.S. learners with some college education, no degree or certificate, according to the National Students Clearinghouse. 1,714% increase in tuition & fees since federal student loans introduction, according to Mises Institute, U.S. ○ Higher education penetration as low as 15% in the world’s 2nd and 5th most populated nations , i.e. India and Brazil. Our multifaceted value proposition can be summarized in 3 key points against which existing products are used for comparison:
● “Competence Passport” – one credentials wallet to store and share all your accomplishments and achievements across the world, validated and verified through the blockchain.
● “Booster for Learners” – a global peer-to-peer marketplace for learning and development. More scalable and cost-effective than e-commerce because it operates without an intermediary.
● “Meant for Education” – without claiming superiority, EDU tokens will be the only once used for 0% fees on transactions between educators, learners, and businesses.
https://os.university/
https://os.university/static/open-source-university-edu-whitepaper.pdf
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2393582.0