“Microcredentials” – this word resonated constantly throughout the two-day international conference: the Warsaw Microcredentials Summit 2025: Local Insight, Global Impact. They appeared in various languages and numerous, often surprising contexts, highlighting their significance and multifaceted nature.

In October 2024, the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute (IBE PIB) organised the conference “Microcredentials for All – A Development Strategy.” During that event, Agata Zarzycka from the University of Warsaw’s Development Support Office stated that ‘Microcredential will become the word of the year.’

Just over half a year later, the participants of another, this time international, conference – the Warsaw Microcredentials Summit 2025: Local Insight, Global Impact – could observe that microcredentials are much more than just a trendy term. As the Educational Research Institute’s director, Dr Maciej Jakubowski, put it: “Microcredentials are the future.”

Microcredentials: needed yesterday

This isn’t about some distant future, though. From the statements of speakers, discussion participants, and workshop attendees, it’s clear that without microcredentials, one cannot fill the gap related to recognition of certain skills and various forms of learning. 

‘It’s a solution that the younger generation already expects – even if they don’t yet know its name,’ argued Dr Jakubowski in his speech.

As it turned out, fulfilling this need, observed not just in the younger generation, is a priority for government representatives, both in Poland and other European Union countries.

‘The widespread use of microcredentials is the best way to modernise skills validation,’ emphasised Monika Sikora, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy. She also highlighted the importance of microcredentials in providing open and fair access to skills validation. 

Meanwhile, Anna Bańczyk, Head of Unit Vocational Education and Training, Skills Portability at CEDEFOP, drew attention to how the European Commission views the potential of microcredentials: ‘Microcredentials are a flexible tool for quality jobs and skills mobility.’

Microcredentials in education: complement, not competition

During the conference, six key thematic areas related to microcredentials were explored. Discussions included whether the tool poses a threat to traditional education, particularly for universities.

‘Microcredentials are not a threat to Polish universities. They are an opportunity for their development,’ stated Jolanta Urbanikowa, Rector Plenipotentiary for Microcredentials at the University of Warsaw.

Representatives from the education sector and IBE PIB experts, who are working on transforming the education system to meet the demands of the modern world and better support students and teachers, also view microcredentials as an opportunity.

‘We want to incorporate them into school systems to allow students to positively affect their learning process, enable self-assessment, and offer teachers an alternative to the traditional grading system,’ said Elżbieta Strzemieczna, Head of the Educational System Change Team at IBE PIB.

Digital credentials are already being successfully used in some schools. Artes Liberales High School is a prime example: 

‘At our school, microcredentials are an important part of our unique assessment system. The traditional grading model is ineffective because grades have no real meaning. Microcredentials motivate learning, are collectable, and can be proudly showcased,’ explained Marcin Szala, co-founder of Artes Liberales High School.

Microcredentials: a lifeline for the labour market

A significant part of the conference was dedicated to the role of microcredentials in the job market. Discussions were focused on their potential as a tool for certifying skills not confirmed by traditional diplomas or certificates, thereby uncovering new opportunities for employees and job candidates.

‘Microcredentials can serve as a tool to empower human potential and human possibilities. We need to communicate the skills we learn effectively. It’s about using genuine credentials that confirm specific competencies, rather than just a diploma that only indirectly attests to skills,’ remarked Noah Geisel, Microcredentials Programme Leader at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Discussions covered the practical application of microcredentials from the perspective of both employers and employees, as well as training and recruitment companies. A significant topic that emerged was the barriers preventing the widespread adoption of this tool in the labour markets of many countries. Numerous contributions indicated that issues of recognition and trust in microcredentials remain key obstacles.

‘The most important question is: how do we make short educational experiences visible and recognisable?’ – this question was posed to the attendees by Anastasia Pouliou, Skills and Qualifications Expert at CEDEFOP.

Finding an answer to this question isn’t straightforward, and many hold differing opinions, for example, on the standardisation of digital credentials, which is intended to guarantee their quality, security, and reputation. As Dr. Wojciech Stęchły, an expert in the microcredentials project at IBE PIB, emphasised: 

‘Standards are needed when trust is lacking. Sometimes consultation and evaluation are enough; at other times, control is necessary.’

The technology behind microcredentials – a chaos to be sorted out

The thematic session on the technologies underpinning digital microcredentials helped attendees grasp highly complex issues in an accessible way, even though understanding them is somewhat difficult.

‘The most important technologies are currently built on words, like artificial intelligence. Some words can’t be translated, as they have no equivalents. “Microcredentials” is also one such case. So, instead of trying to define them, let’s try to understand the data that is being used to build microcredentials,’ argued Simone Ravaioli, Director of Global Ecosystem and Innovation at Instructure.

Joanna Felczak, a key expert in the microcredentials project at IBE PIB, summarised this part of the conference as an attempt to bring order, enabling lost users of credential systems to navigate them effectively.

‘The creators of these systems face a huge task to partially bring order to this chaos,’ she emphasised.

Microcredentials in Poland: we are in the first division

In addition to presentations by global and Polish experts, the conference also featured workshops on how to build the credibility and recognition of microcredentials, as well as a panel discussion dedicated to the pilot implementation of microcredentials in Poland. Companies that have already issued their first credentials via the Odznaka+ application shared their experiences of collaborating with IBE PIB.

Foreign guests, representatives of Polish authorities, and collaborators spoke enthusiastically about the dissemination of microcredentials in Poland by IBE PIB. Michał Nowakowski, the project leader, highlighted the immense achievement of what the experts working on the project have accomplished so far:

‘Our journey isn’t a simple shortcut – it’s an expedition to K2 in winter. But today, we have good weather for developing microcredentials.’