Abstract

The increasing mobility of students and professionals across borders necessitates reliable, efficient, and tamper-proof credential verification systems. This paper proposes a blockchain-based decentralized framework for verifying academic credentials in international education. Built on Ethereum smart contracts with IPFS for document storage, the system enables instant verification of degrees, transcripts, and certificates without relying on centralized authorities. The framework incorporates zero-knowledge proofs to protect sensitive personal information while maintaining verification integrity. A prototype was developed and tested with five partner universities across Turkey, Italy, Azerbaijan, and Lithuania. Results demonstrate that the system reduces verification time from an average of 15 days to under 30 seconds while eliminating fraudulent credential claims in 100% of test cases. The paper discusses scalability challenges, regulatory compliance with GDPR and Bologna Process requirements, and a roadmap for wider adoption.