swiyu, the Swiss e-ID and digital certificates in education.
swiyu is the wallet and trust infrastructure of the Swiss Confederation. Besides the state e-ID, it can hold credentials from other issuers, including educational institutions. Swiss schools and training providers can issue verifiable certificates that learners keep in swiyu and present to employers.
Why swiyu matters for education
Certificates are among the documents Swiss residents show most often: to employers, to schools, to professional bodies. Once they are available as verifiable credentials in the same wallet as the e-ID, they can be checked in seconds and without calling the issuing school.
How an institution issues to swiyu
The institution registers as an issuer in the Swiss trust infrastructure, defines its credential, and issues it over OpenID4VCI. The learner scans a QR code with swiyu and accepts the credential. Verification uses OpenID4VP, the same protocol used in the EU.
Switzerland and the EU
Swiss and European wallets build on the same open standards. A credential designed with the European Learning Model and issued as SD-JWT VC stays usable when a learner moves between Switzerland and the EU.
SAPIO in the Swiss ecosystem
SAPIO is a Swiss company based in Canton Zug and a member of DIDAS, the Swiss digital trust association, where it leads the Education Working Group. Its pilots include Swiss vocational training, continuing education and a master class at a Swiss university of applied sciences.
SAPIO co-authored the DIDAS trust flows for education. They model how a school issues the Maturitätszeugnis as a verifiable credential and how a university uses it, together with the e-ID, to enrol a student. The flows are published openly for discussion; they are not an official specification of swiyu or any authority.
Questions
Do learners need the e-ID to receive a certificate in swiyu?
Issuing a certificate to swiyu is separate from the state e-ID. An institution may ask for identity verification when a credential is claimed; how is defined per use case.
Can a Swiss certificate be verified abroad?
Yes, if the verifier supports the same standards and trusts the issuer. Using the European formats keeps this possible.