SKT Adds Digital Innovation Sharing University Mobile Student ID to 'Initial' App

Blockchain-Based DID Service Initials

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Telecom announced on the 16th that it has added a mobile student ID service for students enrolled in the "Digital New Technology Talent Training Innovation Shared University" curriculum to its blockchain-based decentralized identifier (DID) service app, "Initial."

The Digital Innovation Shared University is a project launched last year by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea with the goal of overcoming the fixed enrollment limits of universities and departments and training 100,000 experts in new technology fields. The 46 universities nationwide participating in this project, including Seoul National University, Chonnam National University, and Pusan National University, share human and material resources such as online and offline courses in eight fields including artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and biohealth. Students taking shared courses can freely attend classes at other participating universities in addition to their enrolled school.

Until now, because each participating university had different online administrative systems, students had to be issued temporary student numbers to access other university systems. However, with the addition of this service, students can now issue a Digital Innovation Shared University mobile student ID through the Initial app and easily access university systems by scanning a QR code and logging in via DID. There is no need to enter an ID and password each time.

Starting next month, SKT plans to enable issuance and login of the Digital Innovation Shared University mobile student ID not only through the Initial app but also via PASS and Samsung Pay. Furthermore, beginning with the Digital Innovation Shared University, SKT plans to support the use of blockchain DID-based mobile student IDs at universities nationwide, including regional hub universities.

Oh Se-hyun, head of SKT’s Digital Asset Company, said, "Through the Digital Innovation Shared University mobile student ID service, we will lead digital transformation in the education sector," adding, "As SKT evolves into an AI service company, we will continue to discover public convenience services utilizing blockchain-based DID."