Learn to build credentials people trust
Free web courses on digital badges, micro-credentials and verifiable credentials from the International Council on Badges and Credentials. Learn at your own pace, pass the final check and download your certificate. When you need proof that others can verify, upgrade it to an Open Badges 3.0 credential.
How the Academy works
Three steps. The first two are free.
Learn
Open a web module and work through it at your own pace. Each module has examples from companies and universities, practice activities and short quizzes with feedback.
Get your certificate
Pass the final check with at least 80%. Type your name and download your certificate of completion as a PDF. You have 2 attempts.
Make it verifiable
Upgrade your certificate to a signed Open Badges 3.0 credential. ICoBC checks your identity and your acquired competences before it issues the credential.
€110 plus VAT per credential
Courses online now
Every course follows the ICoBC catalogue and the ICoBC Credentialing Skills Framework. New web modules appear here as soon as they are published.
- Advanced · ICB-A01Free
Credential Portfolio Strategy
Architecture, governance and funding for a growing credential portfolio.
12 hoursBlended cohortStart - Advanced · ICB-A02Free
Assessment Integrity in the Age of Generative AI
Keeping assessment evidence trustworthy when AI can produce the work.
8 hoursBlended cohortStart - Advanced · ICB-A03Free
Workplace-Based Competency Assessment
Assessing competency in context, against a level-based framework.
10 hoursBlended cohortStart - Advanced · ICB-A04Free
Framework Crosswalks and Levelling
Where corporate and education alignment meet.
10 hoursBlended cohortStart - Advanced · ICB-A05Free
Internal Quality Assurance for Credential Issuers
Quality between reviews: approval, monitoring and periodic review.
12 hoursBlended cohortStart - Advanced · ICB-A06Free
Issuing into the EUDI Wallet: Technical Readiness
Formats, protocols, trust and onboarding for issuers of education and employment credentials.
10 hoursHands-on labStart
Pathways for your role
A pathway puts courses in a sensible order for one role. Several end in a work-based validation that awards a Competency credential.
Companies and employers
Education and providers
Associations and policy
Earners and the ICoBC quality network
One framework behind every course
Every course is aligned to the ICoBC Credentialing Skills Framework (ICSF). The framework describes 17 skills in five groups named after the VRITE quality pillars, five levels of responsibility and three stages from knowing to doing.
Example alignment code
Skill CRDS Credential design, level L1 Contribute, stage K Knowledge. A course can award Knowledge or Ability. Competency is only awarded through a work-based validation.
Open courses, improved together
All courses are published on GitHub in LiaScript, an open Markdown format for courses. If you see an error or have a better example, create a branch and open a pull request. The ICoBC course team reviews every change.
Questions and answers
Are the courses really free?
Yes. Every web module in the ICoBC Academy is free to use, without an account and without advertising. You pay only if you choose to upgrade a certificate to a verifiable credential.
Do I need to register?
No. You open a course and start. Your progress is saved in your browser on this device. If you use the courses through your organisation’s learning platform, the platform saves your progress instead.
How do I get my certificate?
Pass the final check of a web module. You then type your name as it should appear on the certificate and download it as a PDF. Your name stays on your device; it is not sent to ICoBC.
Is the free certificate verifiable?
No. The PDF is a self-issued record of completion. It shows the course, the date and your score, but nobody can check it independently. For proof that employers, universities and systems can verify, request the upgrade to an Open Badges 3.0 credential.
What does the upgrade to a verifiable credential cost?
€110 plus VAT per certificate (€130.90 including 19% German VAT). The fee covers the identity check, the check of your acquired competences and the issuing of a signed Open Badges 3.0 credential.