Sikt simplifies international cooperation and exchange

InteInternational engagement is important for Sikt. In order to support the international cooperation and activities of research and educational institutions, as well as part of the development of products and services. This has led to several services that make it easier for students and staff to collaborate and move across institutions and national borders.

eduroam – always online

eduroam – education roaming – guarantees simple and secure access to wireless networks at institutions in more than 100 countries around the world – without having to enter your login details again. The connection to the wireless guest network works as easily and securely as at your home institution. Easy login provides quick access and facilitates cooperation across institutions in the knowledge sector, both nationally and internationally. eduroam currently has 450 connection points in Norway, including all Avinor airports, and several hotels, in addition to universities and colleges. The service was developed through the GÉANT collaboration.

Feide and eduGAIN – safe and easy login

Feide is the common Norwegian solution for safe and easy login and data sharing in the education sector, and is currently used as a login to a number of administrative and educational tools. Similar solutions also exist in many other countries. 80 countries cooperate through eduGAIN to offer secure and easy login across national borders. This means that students and staff can easily gain access to resources and services at foreign institutions, for example during exchange stays. They log in with their usual Feide user, and don’t need to get a new username and password at the exchange institution.

Digital student ID for Europe

Sikt offers the Student ID mobile app for students at Norwegian universities and colleges, and is now piloting the European Student Card (ESC) at four Norwegian universities and colleges. The European Student Card allows students who have a valid student ID, and have consented to share their data with the European common structure, to prove their student status all over Europe, gaining access to services and discounts wherever they are. In addition,

Sikt issues a European student ID (European student identifier – ESI) as a key component to facilitate the exchange of results and other educational data between educational institutions in Europe in connection with student mobility.

Digital wallets – secure electronic ID

The EU wants to ensure that all EU and EEA residents have access to secure electronic identification and to services that require such security. EU has therefore recently adopted the eIDAS (electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services) 2 regulation. This will give everyone the opportunity to participate in the digital society and secure them access to public and private digital services.

This will change how we identify ourselves when using services from the public and private sectors. Norwegian authorities are obliged to offer a digital wallet that can be used for identification to all residents. The wallets will contain digital credentials such as driver's licenses, diplomas and prescriptions. Both identification and the digital credentials will work nationally, but also across borders in Europe. The residents choose for themselves who to share these credentials with, thus strengthening privacy. The Norwegian Digitalization Agency (DigDir) is responsible for realizing the digital wallet in Norway, and Sikt collaborates closely with DigDir on various aspects related to education.

Share diplomas through digital wallets

Norway participates in three of four major EU-funded pilot projects that test the use of digital wallets and explore how the technology can be utilized. One of these projects is DC4EU (Digital Credentials for EU). The project pilots the use of the wallet within education and social services, and has 80 partners from 22 countries. Sikt is a member of the project, together with other partners from the GÉANT collaboration, and will pilot the use of the wallet based on the Diploma Registry. The Diploma Registry gives users the opportunity to digitally retrieve their results from higher education and share them with education institutions, potential employers and others. As part of DC4EU, the portal will store results to, and display results from, the wallet. Sikt collaborates closely with DigDir on the use of Norwegian identity as part of the wallet.

Exchange of student data

Sikt is involved in several international collaborations that support and simplify the exchange of student data across national borders.

• Erasmus without paper (EWP) is a set of standards and procedures to support the digitization of student exchange administration. The standards and procedures are the result of two European projects in which Sikt has participated, and Sikt had responsibility for designing the data model that EWP is built on, among other things. They will be gradually introduced in all student exchange within the Erasmus+ program.
• Groningen Declaration Network (GDN) is a network of organizations and individuals working for global digital portability of student data. GDN was established in 2012 and Sikt, through FS - the common student information system, was one of the first to sign the Groningen declaration. In 2025, Sikt, along with the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, will host the annual GDN conference.
• EMREX is a network that connects higher education institutions across a number of European countries. The EMREX network allows Norwegian residents to retrieve their own study results and share them with educational institutions and employers across borders. The institutions' own IT systems are used for the transfer. The network was established through an EU-funded project. Norway's exchange of results is based on the Diploma Registry.

Learn more about Sikts international engagement.