Blockchain technology in the workflow system of higher education institutions

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the theoretical foundations of the Blockchain technology. The analysis of the organization structure of its units and the principles of the system. Algorithms of smart contracts are considered and their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed. The purpose of the study is that based on the analysis of the theoretical foundations of building systems using blockchain technology and introducing them into various areas, to propose a system model using smart contracts on the Etherium platform for use in the workflow system in institutions of higher education. Convenient web interfaces for managing the creation of a contract and a module for the interaction of smart contracts with a Web application have been developed.
 The management of an institution of higher education, namely, a department, faculty or institute, involves the correct and timely preparation of various documentation, in which the documentation on student learning outcomes holds a special place. On its basis various financial and reporting documents are being prepared. To this end, institutions of higher education are introducing workflow system and office automation systems to manage the processing of documents, as well as to organize control over the implementation of these processes. The paper proposes the introduction of a blockchain system on the Ethereum platform using smart contracts written in the Solidity language. Solidity is a tool that is used to create machine-level code that can be run on an Ethereum Virtual Machine. Solidity allows you to create and execute a smart contract without requiring centralized or trusted parties. The use of such technologies makes it possible to significantly reduce the number of paper-based information carriers and, to a significant extent, further automate the existing the workflow system in institutions of higher education.
 The proposed system is a part of the workflow system of institutions of higher education, which is designed to automate the process of passing documents related to taking into account and submitting to the dean's office of the faculty or the institute the results of the final controls on academic disciplines or the results of retake of tests and exams. This process requires a large number of documents on paper. The proposed system is deployed in the local computer network of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Information Technologies and Mechatronics of Poltava National Technical Yuri Kondratyuk University and is being tested. The results allow us to draw conclusions about the reduction in the number of paper documents; time to obtain permits. In addition, the level of reliability and protection of information transmitted to the administration of the faculty or institute for further processing has increased. In the future, it is planned to introduce the proposed system for document flow automation for all institutes and faculties of the Poltava National Technical Yuri Kondratyuk University.