Gemalto announces delivery of a million Polish student cards
16 June, 2008
category: Contactless, Education
Digital security provider Gemalto has to date supplied more than a million student ID cards to some 100 universities and high schools in Poland. The company provided the cards to OPTeam, a Gemalto value added reseller, which then personalized the cards for the colleges and schools. Large-scale deployment started last fall and another 300 universities are expected to join the program soon.
The campus card verifies a student’s identity and grants access to university premises including libraries, dormitories and sport facilities. It is also used as an e-ticket for public transportation in major Polish cities, as well as a means to pay for parking spaces in the city center. Bearers of the card are entitled to the student discount wherever it is offered.
Additional features are being implemented, such as the e-purse, which allows students to pay with their cards at the cafeteria or at the library’s photocopy machine. In some universities, the campus card includes a digital signature, enabling students to electronically sign documents, sparing them the hassle of having to go to a university office to handle paperwork. With the authentication capability, students gain access to specific documents on the university’s computers and to the information kiosk, which provides course details.
“We selected Gemalto for its extensive experience in the very diverse applications of digital security,” commented Andrzej Pelczar, vice president of OPTeam. “Modernizing the IT infrastructure in Polish universities is a long-term program and Gemalto has proven an extremely valuable partner to us since day one of this project.”
“This card makes life easier both for students and university personnel, as it replaces paper documents and streamlines administrative services,” added Jacques Seneca, executive vice president of Gemalto’s security business unit.