Micro-credentials have emerged as an important way to support lifelong learning, reskilling, and the recognition of smaller units of learning. As higher education institutions adapt to changing learner needs and labor market demands, micro-credentials provide digitally verifiable proof of specific skills, competencies, or achievements.
Despite growing interest across Europe and globally, the implementation of micro-credentials introduces practical challenges: systems must be interoperable across borders, academic standards must be protected, and trust must be earned among diverse stakeholders. Kiiskilä’s dissertation explores these challenges through the question: How can micro-credentials be managed and governed in the higher education context?
The study employs qualitative case studies supported by 61 interviews with leaders, experts, and learners across a European higher education alliance to understand institutional experiences and stakeholder perspectives. A design science case further advances this understanding by building and evaluating a prototype based on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), demonstrating how technical implementation is shaped by policy and organizational constraints in real-world adoption.
The findings suggest that successful management and governance of micro-credentials depend on the alignment of technological capabilities, stakeholder expectations, and institutional conditions. Interoperable and verifiable infrastructures are essential but must be supported by policy coherence and organizational readiness. The research further reveals that cross-institutional collaboration adds governance complexity. Alliances need to balance centralized coordination with the autonomy of individual universities. Centralized approaches can strengthen legitimacy, quality assurance, and scalability, but they must remain flexible enough to work across different regulatory and cultural environments. Ultimately, successful implementation depends on shared standards, continuous negotiation, and a collective commitment to educational innovation.
“Learners deserve credentials that are trusted wherever they go,” says Kiiskilä. “That trust doesn’t come from technology alone. It depends on strong data governance across institutional and national boundaries. When alliances coordinate how learner data is verified, protected, and shared, micro-credentials can truly support mobility and lifelong learning”.
Public defense on Friday 21 November
The doctoral dissertation of Padmasheela Kiiskilä (MS) in the field of information and knowledge management titled Managing Micro-Credentials in the Higher Education Context: From Digital Platforms to Data Governance in University Alliances will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University at 12.00 on Friday 21 November 2025. The venue is Festia building, auditorium Pieni sali 1 (address: Korkeakoulunkatu 8, Tampere). The Opponent will be Professor Virpi Tuunainen from the Aalto University, Finland. The Custos will be Professor Henri Pirkkalainen from Tampere University.