Blockchain-Based Approach to Foster Student Engagement on Campus

Abstract: On-campus activities like positions of responsibility in campus amenities and participation in research, benefit the students as well as the university, while also making students financially self-sufficient to a certain extent. However, this student participation is stymied by lack of awareness and motivation. Significant impetus to innovation and student participation can be provided by incentivization of these activities. In this paper, we propose a system to create a blockchain-based economy, to incentivize students with empirical benefits or monetary awards calculated using objective algorithms. The incentivization algorithms have been designed for three promising use cases: research work, positions of responsibility in universities, and crowdfunding. The demonstrated implementation of this system utilises VJTI Chain, an already established Proof of Authority blockchain in VJTI Mumbai, India. This creates a circular economy within the university which encourages students to earn more rewards by reinforcing positive feedback.