Nobody in Lagos Can Ring Stockholm: SIBS and the Diploma That Checks Itself

TL;DR: SIBS has students from around the world, and many of them use their diploma to apply for work in a third country. An employer in Lagos, Berlin or Singapore is not going to call Stockholm to check it. SIBS now issues blockchain secured diplomas that verify themselves in seconds, carry the school's own design, and can be indexed online. Over a thousand have been issued and viewed thousands of times.

What is a diploma for, at an international school?

Crossing a border. A student who studies in Stockholm and then applies for a job in another country is asking a stranger to accept a claim about an institution they may never have heard of.

The document has to do that work alone. There is nobody in the room who can vouch for the school.

“Our students use their diplomas to apply for jobs globally. They need something that signals quality and can be verified immediately.”

What was wrong with a PDF?

It fails hardest at exactly this distance. A PDF is easy to alter, it gets buried in an inbox, and it carries none of the presentation an international job market expects.

Worse, it puts the burden on the reader. An employer who wants to be sure has to find the school, find the right department, and hope somebody answers in a language they share. Almost nobody does that. They either accept the document or quietly discount it, and both outcomes are bad for the graduate.

What does the diploma do now?

It answers for itself. Each one is blockchain secured, carries the school's visual identity, and can be checked instantly through a QR code or its own address. It is also indexable online, which means the school's name appears where people search.

“Every diploma becomes a professional touchpoint between us and the world. It reflects our values and raises the bar for what a business school should deliver.”

Over a thousand diplomas have been issued this way and viewed thousands of times.

What changed inside the school?

Issuing stopped being a task. It became an automated step in a student's time at the school rather than something an administrator remembers to do at the end of term.

For the recipient it is simpler still. The diploma is delivered digitally, opens on a phone, and goes onto LinkedIn or into a digital portfolio with one click. That matters most for students heading into finance, marketing and entrepreneurship, where a diploma should work for the person holding it rather than sit in a folder.

Why does the design matter?

Because in business the document is a first impression, and often the only one an employer abroad will get.

“Design matters in business. Our diplomas now look and feel premium, which is exactly how we want to be seen.”

The school's reputation travels with every graduate, encoded in a document anyone can check. That is a different asset from a reputation that has to be explained.

Where to read more

Two other schools whose graduates take the document into the market: IHM Business School and Nackademin. On what to ask before choosing a format, see nine questions every school should ask.

Frequently asked questions

What is SIBS?

Stockholm International Business School, a growing business school with international ambitions and students from around the world.

Why is verification harder for international students?

Because the employer is somewhere else. A graduate applying for a job in another country is handing a document to someone who cannot practically contact a school in Stockholm to check it.

What does a SIBS diploma do now?

It is blockchain secured, carries the school's design, can be verified instantly by QR code or its own address, and is indexable online.

How do students use it?

It is delivered digitally, opens on a phone, and can be added to LinkedIn or a digital portfolio with one click. Over a thousand diplomas have been issued, viewed thousands of times.

What did it change for staff?

Issuing stopped being a manual task and became an automated step in a student's time at the school.