REINER SCT has supplied a total of 180 “cyberJack RFID komfort” readers to the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Karlsruhe.
The Furtwangen-based company is sponsoring part of this reader package.
In December 2013, students of mathematics on the Business Informatics course will use the readers to digitally sign an electronic exam for the first time anywhere in Germany.
“We consider the project of the DHBW and its partners to be exciting and pioneering and are therefore happy to support it with our hardware and expertise,” says Managing Director REINER SCT Klaus Bechtold.
The electronic exam with signature is part of the “optes” joint project between DHBW, the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences and the “ILIAS open source e-Learning e.V.” association in collaboration with the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg and the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich.
One of the aims of the project is to make processes at universities more efficient.
Even today, exams at some universities are no longer written on paper, but directly on computers.
However, in order for them to be legally binding, students have to print out their exams and sign them by hand.
With the “optes” project, this step is no longer necessary and students sign their exams in a legally binding manner and without media discontinuity using a qualified electronic signature.
DHBW Karlsruhe provides each student with a personal signature card for this purpose.
In a later step, students will be able to use their new ID card or electronic residence permit for this purpose.
Electronic signatures with the new ID card or residence permit are only possible with comfort readers – REINER SCT is currently the only provider of certified comfort readers.
“Our decision to choose REINER SCT as a supplier and consultant is therefore a milestone and an important part of this promising project,” says Professor Manfred Daniel, sub-project manager in “optes”.
Efficiency gains through electronic exams
The project team hopes that the lecturers will be able to correct the work more quickly overall.
This is because the creation of the papers by the students on the computer leads to a clearer and more uniform typeface and better readability of the exams.
Database-based question pools would allow lecturers to conveniently manage exam questions and, for example, a variable order of exam questions per student, which would make copying more difficult.
Multimedia content could also be integrated.
In the case of “four-eye corrections” for quality assurance, several examiners could conveniently access the exams stored securely in databases, making the physical mailing of papers superfluous.
Ultimately, students would receive their exam results more quickly.
Lecturers could also save time when sending exam results to the examination office.
In addition, exams could simply be archived digitally.
The next steps at the DHBW are now being carefully planned and the necessary processes and structures are being set up so that this potential can be fully exploited.
The aim is to be able to test the first electronically signed exam in summer and write it in winter 2013. About optes: The optes project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the Teaching Quality Pact under the funding code 01PL12012. Contact: Prof. Dr. Roland Küstermann – Overall Project Manager Optes DHBW Karlsruhe Tel.: 0721 – 9735 940 E-Mail: roland.kuestermann@dhbw-karlsruhe.de Contact for the electronic exam: Prof. Manfred Daniel – Subproject Manager Optes “Summative E-Assessment” DHBW Karlsruhe Tel.: 0721 – 9735 938 E-Mail: daniel@dhbw-karlsruhe.de About REINER SCT REINER SCT has been developing, manufacturing and distributing readers for smart cards since 1997.
The company specializes in high-quality home banking security solutions for banks and their customers as well as intuitive time recording and access control systems for small and medium-sized companies.
REINER SCT develops and produces in Germany and offers all services from a single source, including sales and end customer service.
With the new chip card readers for the electronic ID card, REINER SCT is a pioneer for the innovative use of IT in the public sector. The company operates worldwide and is part of the REINER Group, which has been family-owned since 1913. It is based in Furtwangen in the Black Forest and employs 45 people. Further information can be found at: www.reiner-sct.com.
