Open Badges – A digital approach to micro-credentials - Federico Camporesi, Tieke.fi

They are digital proofs of achievements, skills, or knowledge that individuals have gained. In particular, OB can be described as digital credentials that represent skills, achievements, or knowledge. The interests in tools like open badges comes from the need to give form to skills and credentials acquired via informal learning and validate individual’s knowledge and competences in a specific area or field. Indeed, micro-credentials are gaining popularity due to their flexibility, relevance to industry needs, and the ability to quickly upskill or reskill workers. They are part of the so-called informal learning, designed to cover specific skills or competencies, allowing learners to gain expertise in particular areas without needing to commit to a full degree program. What make OBs interesting is that they are visually recognisable as they are digital images that contain embedded metadata detailing the skills and achievements they represent.

https://tieke.fi/en/open-badges-a-digital-approach-to-micro-credentials/