Copyright thehindubusinessline
Profential, a digital credential platform from US/Chennai-based edtech start-up Headstream Technologies, is on track to partner with over 600 institutions in the next 18 months. The platform allows academic institutions to recognise students with digital tokens for all achievements, both academic and extracurricular. Currently the company has partnered with educational institutions like Panimalar Engineering College, School of Management DG Vaishnav College and Jaya College of Engineering and Technology in India and the University of Michigan and other K-12 schools in the US to offer the platform to their students. In all, the company has partnership with 16 school districts and universities in the US and so count 5 higher education institutions in India. According to the co-founder Pramod Damodaran, unlike traditional document storage platforms like DigiLocker, Profential is designed to go beyond just being a simple repository of certificates. “We want to build an ecosystem where student achievements beyond just marksheets and degrees, but a wider range of skills and accomplishments, can be documented, shared, and verified,” he said. Possible credentials The start-up’s team works with institutions and suggests possible credentials for events listed in the college’s calendar. Following this, a repository of predefined credentials is created, and the faculty in charge is given permission to issue specific credentials. Students can then accumulate credentials in a digital wallet and use the platform’s built-in resume creator to showcase achievements and share it with recruiters via QR codes. “The credentials will give a verified reference to the kind of activities the student has taken part in and skills that they have developed as a result,” Damodaran said. He said that while companies have such wallets internally for employee skilling programmes, Profential is the only Indian platform that is student-centric with credentials and profile builders for K-12 and higher education. “With rapid digitisation in India, we see large potential for this market, and since there aren’t many significant Indian competitors, we are expecting an early-mover advantage in the Indian education ecosystem,” he added. Published on October 26, 2025
