City of Sunderland College and NERSC Smart Card Initiative

City of Sunderland College and NERSC Smart Card Initiative
Word Count:
266
Summary:
City of Sunderland College and the North East Regional Smartcard Consortium (NERSC), supported by Diginus Ltd, have embarked upon an exciting e-Learning journey with the roll out of student smart cards. Aimed at making student life more rewarding, and simplifying college administration, the smart card scheme is being delivered as part of the wider NERSC initiative.

Keywords:
Diginus,e-identity,OpenXPKI,open XPKI,smartcard,smart card,PKI,NERSC,e-government,e-health,e-learning,digital certificate,digital signature,openca,public key infrastructure,identity management,

Article Body:
City of Sunderland College and the North East Regional Smartcard Consortium</b> (NERSC), supported by Diginus Ltd, have embarked upon an exciting e-Learning journey with the roll out of student smart cards. Aimed at making student life more rewarding, and simplifying college administration, the smart card scheme is being delivered as part of the wider NERSC initiative.
NERSC are a consortium of 26 local authorities in the North East of England.  The consortium has ambitious plans to deliver a multi application, strongly authenticated, smart card throughout the region.  The cards will be used to access local services from both the public and private sectors; encompassing such activities as e-Health, e-Education, and access to sports, leisure and entertainment facilities.  The successful City of Sunderland College roll out is the largest example to date, with many thousands of cards already in circulation.  NERSC fully intend to be seen as a role model for other English and European regions in their adoption and deployment of these innovative technologies.
The initiative is underpinned by a highly secure digital identity solution using an Open Source Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology. This approach brings low cost yet robust and scalable technical solutions to this traditionally complex and expensive area. The PKI expertise is provided by Diginus Ltd, a leading player in PKI / smart card initiatives in both local government and business.
Other technology partners supporting NERSC include Fujitsu and ActivCard.
Facts and Figures: City of Sunderland College has upwards of 24,000 students and 900 staff. NERSC is a consortium of 26 local authorities in the North East of England.