Badges

Gataca’s Open Badges service enables organizations to issue verifiable digital badges that certify the completion of a course, training program, or other type of achievement, and deliver them automatically to end users.

The service supports two issuance paths, designed to accommodate both operational workflows and advanced integrations based on decentralized identity:

1. Badge issuance from an Excel file

2. Automatic badge issuance from a Verifiable Credential (Open Badge / Achievement)

1. Open Badges Issuance from Excel

This option is designed for batch issuance, where an organization needs to issue the same badge to multiple users (for example, after the completion of a course or program).

Excel Template

Gataca provides a predefined Excel template that must be completed with the information for each badge recipient. Each row in the Excel file represents one badge to be issued to a specific user.

The template includes, among others, the following fields:

• Badge title

• Description

• Activity start date

• Activity end date

• Recipient email

• Recipient first name

• Recipient last name

This information represents the achievement being certified (for example, course completion or participation in a training program).

Issuance Flow

Once the Excel file is uploaded:

1. The system validates the structure and contents of the template.

2. A badge is generated for each recipient.

3. The badge is rendered in HTML format.

4. The end user automatically receives an email with their badge and instructions on how to access it.

This flow allows organizations to issue badges quickly, without requiring any technical integration.

2. Open Badges Issuance from Verifiable Credentials

This option is intended for advanced integrations, where an organization already issues Verifiable Credentials and wants the badge creation and delivery process to be fully automated.

The schema used for Open Badges is the one provided by IMS Global.

Schema: https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/ob/v3p0/schema/json/ob_v3p0_anyachievementcredential_schema.json

Automatic Open Badge Detection

When the system receives a Verifiable Credential of type Open Badge / Achievement, Gataca:

1. Detects that the credential is eligible for Open Badges.

2. Analyzes the credential content.

3. Verifies that a set of structural and semantic conditions are met.

If all conditions are satisfied, the badge creation process is triggered automatically, without manual intervention.

Required Conditions

In addition to the standard Open Badges schema, the credential must include a set of mandatory fields in predefined structures, including:

• Achievement information (name, description, type, criteria, etc.)

  • campaign [mandatory]

• Recipient information:

  • givenName

  • familyName

  • email

• Activity start and end dates

If any of these elements are missing or do not follow the expected format, the credential will not be processed as an Open Badge.

Also, the endpoint should be extended to include the following query param: "?openBadges=true"

Fully Automated Flow

When all requirements are met:

1. The badge is generated directly from the credential data.

2. The badge is rendered in HTML format.

3. An email is automatically sent to the recipient with their badge.

4. No additional action is required from the issuer.

This approach allows Open Badges to be seamlessly integrated into existing verifiable credential issuance workflows.

3. Example Verifiable Credential (Open Badge / Achievement)

Below is a simplified example of a Verifiable Credential that is valid for the automatic Open Badges process:

{
  "@context": [
    "https://www.w3.org/ns/credentials/v2",
    "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/ob/v3p0/context-3.0.3.json"
  ],
  "type": [
    "VerifiableCredential",
    "AchievementCredential"
  ],
  "credentialSubject": {
    "activityStartDate": "2025-09-01T00:00:00Z",
    "activityEndDate": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "achievement": {
      "id": "https://example.edu/achievements/data-science-101",
      "name": "Data Science 101",
      "description": "Completed the introductory Data Science 101 course.",
      "achievementType": "CertificateOfCompletion",
      "criteria": {
        "id": "https://example.edu/courses/data-science-101/criteria",
        "narrative": "Completed all modules and passed the final assessment with a score of at least 85%.",
        "type": ["Criteria"]
      },
      "type": ["Achievement"],
      "campaign": "Test campaign-1"
    },
    "recipient": {
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "givenName": "Jane",
      "familyName": "Doe"
    },
    "type": ["AchievementSubject"]
  }
}

4. Summary of Issuance Paths

Path	Recommend Use	Technical Level
Excel	Batch issuance, operational workflows	Low
Verifiable Credential	Automated flows, SSI-based integrations	High

Both paths lead to the same outcome: automatic creation, delivery, and visualization of verifiable Open Badges, ensuring consistency, traceability, and a smooth end-user experience.

If you want to use this service contact previously to Gataca team to config your instance (Logos, images, layout, ...).