To improve the employability of our graduates, CEU Universities are leading an innovative change to bachelor’s degree programmes, by adding microcredentials to them. These are the qualifications of the future, enabling students to display the specific skills they possess on social networks in an effective way.

Employers are looking for more than a degree

Employers are certainly looking for graduates, but those graduates who also possess specific skills and competencies stand out from the rest. That’s why it’s so important for candidates to display the competencies they possess.

Over the course of their degree, CEU students can gain a series of personal and professional skills which are highly valued by employers. Microcredentials allow the University to certify that its graduates possess these skills – and enable employers to easily verify this.

Badge

What is a microcredential?

  • A microcredential is a digital badge, certifying that the holder possesses a particular skill or competency.
  • The aim is to make those with the right skills stand out more for employers.
  • A microcredential generates trust, as employers can click on it and see how the person has acquired that competency.

What CEU microcredentials are there?

The CEU microcredential ecosystem covers all the competencies which you can acquire during your time at the University.

There are two types of microcredential within our ecosystem:

21st Century Skills, across six different areas.

Those which form part of a Learning Pathway specific to each degree.

Rueda microcredenciales

21st Century Skills

Ethical commitment

Competencies concerning ethical commitment, social awareness, civic responsibility and sensitivity to the environment – developed at the University and certified by it.

Research

These competencies concern the application of the scientific method in a specific area, contributing to the progress of society.

Instrumental competencies

These are the value-added competencies concerning the use of information management resources, digital skills and the ability to speak foreign languages.

Internationalization

These are the competencies you will need to operate effectively in today’s globalized workplace.

Soft Skills

These are personal skills which go beyond mere knowledge of information: they are what differentiate a top professional from the rest.

Being professional

These competencies enable you to operate in a range of different organizational settings and stand out in the job market.

Learning Pathways

The Learning Pathways consist of a gradual learning journey with several milestones. As you reach each milestone, you get a microcredential and the corresponding badge means that you can show you have achieved this skill. You can put all the badges up on social media as you complete the Learning Pathway.

What are the benefits for you?

  • Our Learning Pathways allow you to personalize the learning experience.
  • You’ll find that achieving a microcredential will motivate you to keep on learning.
  • And they will flesh out your CV, making you more competitive in the job market.

At our University, each degree sets its own Learning Pathways.

​​​​​​​How can I get CEU microcredentials?

How are they issued?

  • The University issues microcredentials using Open Badges v 3.0 technology, via Badgr.com

How can I display my microcredentials?

  • You can display CEU microcredentials on LinkedIn, on your personal website, on your CV, in your portfolio or on any digital platform. To do this, you’ll need to register on Badgr.com.

If you are a student, check out the information on the intranet about how to get microcredentials.

Peer-Reviewed Student Badges: microcredentials issued by students to students

What are Peer-Reviewed Student Badges?
  • These are microcredentials issued by students to other students, in recognition of their learning.
Why have Peer-Reviewed Student Badges?
  • These microcredentials encourage student participation and involvement in organizing activities.
  • They reward hard work in achieving microcredentials.
  • They provide a different and stimulating kind of learning experience.
How can I get them?
  • Join a Student Club to get Peer-Reviewed Student Badges.
  • The Student Clubs determine the criteria for the award of these microcredentials on an annual basis.
  • You can find a list of Student Clubs that issue microcredentials on the intranet.

The development of the CEU Microcredentials Ecosystem: a quest to improve our students’ employability

We’ve been working on raising the profile of the skills that CEU students acquire during their degree since 2015. We started with what was called the Certificate of Competencies: students received this in PDF format when they graduated. In 2019, we transformed the certificate into a set of badges using Open Badge technology, via the world’s leading badge-issuing platform, Badgr.com. Since then, the CEU Microcredentials Ecosystem has undergone exponential growth. In 2022, we took another leap forward with the new Open Badge v 3.0 release and the growing awareness of the concept of microcredentials across the world.


- Launch of the “Certificate of Competencies” (PDF given to graduates recording the competencies acquired over the course of their degree).


Coming soon in the CEU Microcredentials Ecosystem

What are microcredentials v 3.0 and why is this significant?

Welcome to the new generation of digital badges.

In 2022-23, the CEU Cardenal Herrera University began using the latest blockchain and encryption technology, offering the highest level of online security.

The v 3.0 technology also entails important changes in how your microcredentials are stored and shared. Until now, they were stored on a web server, but now they are stored in a digital wallet in your mobile, tablet or computer, ensuring that employers can trust the process for transferring and displaying skills as 100% secure.

Get the latest microcredentials news on our blog