The Erasmus+ project DISCO SMS (Digitally Signed Credentials and Open Badges – Smart Motivation with Stackability), coordinated by the Institute of Continuous Engineering Education, is dedicated to transforming how soft skills are recognized in education. By integrating gamification and open badge technology, the project helps educators reward essential competencies—like communication, adaptability, and collaboration—in ways that are visible, portable and professionally relevant.

In connection with this initiative, three new articles have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Opus et Educatio, each examining different aspects of soft skills recognition and digital credentialing.

One article explores how gamified open badges can enhance motivation and learner engagement, offering practical recommendations and case studies on implementation strategies. Another study focuses on the use of digital badges to recognize soft skills in higher education, presenting a real-life example of badge design and application within a virtual learning environment. The third contribution addresses the technical foundations of stackable learning paths, showing how blockchain and IPFS-based systems can support the secure and structured accumulation of informal learning achievements.

Together, these publications offer a compelling look into how digital badges and innovative credentialing systems are reshaping education—especially in recognizing the kinds of skills that matter most in today’s complex and fast-changing world.

 You can access the articles directly in Opus et Educatio:

• Enhancing Education with Gamified Open Badges
• Using Digital Badges for Recognition of Soft Skills
• Stackability Planning in Informal Learning and Soft Skill Acknowledgments

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