About the project

About the Project

19.04.2021

The Project aims to develop a system for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that will enable the use of electronic signatures and electronic seals in line with eIDAS Regulation and standards (signature/seal creation and/or validation). Initially it will focus on enhancing document handling in Polish HEIs and on secure cross-border exchanges, but eventually it will made available for use in small medium-sized enterprises in Poland.

Specifically, the Action will design and develop a highly configurable eSignature solution to be used in Higher Education, deploy it in the Polish Higher Education area and validate it in the cross-border exchange of documents using a European-wide platform for the secure transfer of student data between HEIs (Erasmus Without Paper platform and EMREX Network).

The eSignForStudy will be based on the eSignature DSI Building Block’s DSS open-source library (incorporating the library’s code). It will resemble a black box concept, with optional/interchangeable components and open interfaces to enable interoperability. It will support an easy way of handling and interacting with the components of a PKI, considering systems with certificates stored in local secure repositories – Hardware Security Module, its software equivalent, or encrypted databases. If qualified signatures are required and cannot be downloaded to the local infrastructure, they can be stored in a remote cloud managed by the Qualified Certified Authority. It will allow for using trusted timestamp services delivered by certified providers. Using a modular approach, easy deployment will be guaranteed by delivering corresponding preconfigured containers to conform the final deployment fulfilling the requirements for each institution.

For testing and validation, the University of Warsaw (UNIWARSAW) will integrate the eSignForStudy with their Student Information System (SIS), already connected to the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) platform and EMREX Network. Both platforms allow for secure transfer of student data. The new tool will allow the signing and validation of documents, thus providing a missing key security component. The integrated solution will be deployed in UNIWARSAW, and other HEIs in Poland using the same SIS (70+).

After deploying the tool, UNIWARSAW and Czech Technical University will exchange signed documents via the EWP platform, to test and validate cross-border the used certificates and procedures.