Francotyp Postalia : Universities connecting students across borders using eIDAS

Berlin and Wernigerode, 13 December 2018 - Visits, studies and internships abroad are now essential components of successful academic education. This results in considerable administrative expenses such as the reporting of examination results or the placement of dormitories and internships. The efficient and secure digitalisation of these processes, based on eIDAS, is the aim of the joint EU StudIES+ project, which runs until the end of August 2019. The consortium leader is Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG, a specialist for secure mail business and secure digital communication processes. The funding comes from the 'Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2014-2020 TELECOM Call 2017' program of the European Union (EU) with co-financing from the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

'The universities are very important partners for us in the StudIES+ project, as they have valuable experience with the administrative processes at universities, including all the ins and outs as well as stumbling blocks that may be involved,' explains project manager Dr Kai Fliegner of Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG. 'We are also very lucky to have such innovative universities as part of our consortium.'

University uses online ID function (eID) when contacting students

The Harz University of Applied Sciences is one of the first universities in Germany, which uses the online ID function (eID) of the ID card to get in contact with their students. 'In the StudIES+ project we are investigating possibilities for expansion in order to digitalise selected management processes for students with the help of electronic identities and signatures according to the European eIDAS regulation. The implementation is based on an extended student account,' explains Prof. Dr Hermann Strack, the responsible project manager from Harz University of Applied Sciences. He teaches and researches Network Management and Practical Computer Science at the Department of Automation and Computer Sciences in the Harz University of Applied Sciences.

Among other things, this includes the 'ePraktikum' solution: Which provides internship forms and contracts by means of eID/eIDAS access and eIDAS (remote) signature through a secure portal. For the first time, this makes it possible to remotely carry out legally binding digital process implementations.

The 'eNOTAR' portal, which is also part of the research project carried out by the Harz University of Applied Sciences, is dedicated to the digital authentication of certificates and other documents. In the future, students will be able to use the eNOTAR certified documents via the European EMREX network for cross-border applications.

Digital student identity in the form of an app for mobile devices

The ID-Management working group of Prof. Dr Marian Margraf at the Institute of Computer Science at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) focuses on secure electronic authentication within the framework of the EU project StudIES+.

The FU Berlin is working together with the Bundesdruckerei GmbH (German Federal Printing Office) to provide digital student identification in the form of an app for mobile devices. The basis is the eID function for nationally issued identity cards. It should be available to both native students and those from each EU member state. The app serves as a supplement to the well-known plastic card and should increase both the availability of the system and its usability.

Through StudIES+, students will be able to register their 'Student ID Card' anywhere in Europe. Interoperability between the German and the systems of other EU countries is ensured by the eIDAS Regulation.

In the course of the StudIES+ project, the FU Berlin and Bundesdruckerei (German Federal Printing Office) are testing and evaluating the functionality as well as the user friendliness of the 'Student ID Card' on the basis of specific application cases. Students will be able to use the Student ID Card to securely authenticate themselves on the eExamResults platform to retrieve exam results. The 'eLibrary' application focuses on the offline use of the 'Student ID Card' on campus. The 'Student ID Card' has clear advantages when directly compared to existing solutions. A two-factor authentication, therefore, increases the security level without limiting the usability. As a constantly available and personalised app, students can immediately declare the 'Student ID Card' as invalid if they lose their smartphone or if they are de-registered, which helps to prevent misuse of the student ID card.

Additional information:

https://studies-plus.eu/