Open Source University

Open Source University is a platform for academic development and job search.

How it works:

OSU’s main selling point is providing academic courses from universities and other education providers and creating a digital credentials wallet. Universities provide courses and verify students’ past and present accomplishments in blockchain. This means businesses can check their applicants’ credentials faster and with more certainty that CV would allow. Searching the database for quality matches enhances possibilities for headhunters. It can become the go-to choice for hiring new personnel.

Regular users now won’t have to keep their CV in shape and properly worded to attract employers. All the necessary information is updated automatically and this digital CV contains just raw and verified facts, allowing employers to make their own conclusions. Searching for the right position is going to take less effort, as HRs can find you on their own.

Big data of millions of users is handled by an algorithm that connects the right businesses with the right candidates, making recruitment easier for employers and employees. Algorithms also suggest users what courses to choose, based on market demand for certain skills and the path they choose.

Innovation:

OSU makes education decentralized and integrates it with its target domain, job market. The platform connects businesses, employees and education providers in a network that saves each party a substantial amount of time and money. It can become a useful tool for millions.

Innovation score: High

Token value:

OSU charges 5% transaction fee from all transactions between users that held in currency other that EDU tokens. Thus, users are incentivized to use it. With the growth of subscriber base, the demand for EDU will go up, resulting in growth of its price.

30% of the company’s profits are dedicated to buyoff and burnout of tokens, driving its price even higher.

Token value score: High

White paper:

The white paper that OSU presents describes the concept in details, outlines the main information about the Dapp and presents use cases for its application. It describes the technology behind the Dapp, comments on business development possibilities and plans, and provides the company’s business model.

White paper score: High

Roadmap:

The project has roadmaps for marketing, software and business development. Proof-of-concept phase was started in 2015, now the company has an alpha version of the product. It will be released in May.

Later in 2018 the team will release a beta version. In 2019 the platform should be fully operational, starting to earn profit and buy out tokens.

Business model:

A part of company’s strategy is building partnerships with business and academic organisation like Coursera and EdX. This will be done through a network if ambassadors.

Business model score: High

Team:

Project lead is an award winning researcher, who consults Bulgarian government on innovation and smart specialisation. Tech lead and blockchain developer both have 10 years of experience, the latter was involved in big government projects.

The advisory board is rather big and packed with professionals. Investment advisor was a banker for Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. Strategy advisor worked for PayPal, Microsoft and Bloomberg. Academia advisor is a VP of an economic university. Corporate advisor currently commands more than 170 people in an IT company.

The team also has a net of ambassadors across the world, who are going to make a contribution to the company’s marketing campaign.

Team score: High

Competitors:

Entering two profitable fields, OSU manages to leave little space for competition. Startups like CVproof offer similar services to the job market, but fail to combine the two. This makes the platform easier to use and more profitable for customers and certificate verification providers.

Competitors score: High

Overall thoughts:

Open Source University creates a service that solves problems of millions of people. It has a solid team and little to no competitors. This considered, EDU’s rise in price is very probable.