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Geneva, Switzerland · Swiss Verein

International Science & Technology Consortium

A decentralized global ecosystem where universities, research institutes and high‑technology companies cooperate on DeepTech research, practice‑oriented education and the international recognition of professional qualifications.

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01 — About the Consortium

A bridge between science, education and high‑technology business.

Founding document

The Statutes

The ideological and strategic foundation of the Consortium, officially signed and registered by the Canton of Geneva.

Read the document →

The International Science and Technology Consortium, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is a non‑profit international association established as a decentralized global ecosystem for collaboration between science, education and high‑technology business.

Its work is guided by two paradigms. Society 5.0 describes a human‑centred society in which cyber‑physical systems and artificial intelligence are integrated to solve social problems rather than simply to automate industry. University 5.0 is the institutional answer: an open, hyper‑connected university that merges physical and digital learning environments and measures itself by the societal value it creates.

In practice this means three lines of activity. The Consortium promotes DeepTech research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics and robotics. It implements practice‑oriented educational models through EdTech solutions, dual education and project‑based assessment. And it develops international standards for education quality, research ethics and professional qualifications.

The Consortium operates under the strategic leadership of the International Science and Technology University (ISTU, Poland) as Head Organization, and uses a specialized internal credit system, the ISTC, so that learning achievements can be mutually recognised across its membership of universities, research institutes and technology companies.

Ecosystem diagramScience (DeepTech R&D), Education (University 5.0) and Business (High‑tech industry) are linked in a cycle by two‑way arrows, around the Sci&Tech Consortium in Geneva at the centre. Labels: Society 5.0; orbit · ISTU Head Organization; ISTC credits · mutual recognition.ScienceDeepTech R&DEducationUniversity 5.0BusinessHigh‑tech industrySci&TechConsortiumGENEVASOCIETY 5.0ORBIT · ISTU HEAD ORGANIZATIONISTC CREDITS · MUTUAL RECOGNITION

02 — How the ecosystem works

Three sectors, one circulation of knowledge.

  1. Science feeds education. Research results from member institutes become curricula, laboratory cases and project briefs within months rather than years, because the same organizations sit on both sides.

  2. Education supplies business. Dual‑education students train inside partner companies and are assessed on real projects. Companies gain talent that already knows their stack; students leave with a portfolio instead of only a transcript.

  3. Business funds and directs science. Industry partners pose problems with long R&D cycles, co‑finance applied research and commercialise results through spin‑offs under a founder‑friendly IP policy.

  4. The Consortium sits in the middle. It holds the common standards, the ISTC credit unit and the accreditation processes that let achievements move between the three sectors and across ten countries without being re‑evaluated each time.

03 — International initiatives

Eight programmes, one operating model.

Each initiative is run jointly by member organizations and coordinated from Geneva. Together they cover the full cycle from fundamental research to a recognised professional qualification.

  • 01

    DeepTech Research & Development

    The Consortium promotes and facilitates both fundamental and applied research in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics and robotics. DeepTech is distinguished by long R&D cycles and heavy capital needs, which is exactly where a single institution struggles and a consortium can pool laboratories, data and funding.

    In practiceJoint research groups across member institutes; shared access to infrastructure; a pipeline from discovery to engineering solution.

  • 02

    University 5.0 Implementation

    A future‑oriented educational model that integrates physical and digital learning environments. Where earlier university generations added research and then entrepreneurship to teaching, the fifth generation operates as an open innovation ecosystem embedded in society, using advanced digital technologies for personalised education and measuring itself by tangible societal value.

    In practiceHybrid campuses, personalised learning paths, outcome metrics tied to real‑world impact.

  • 03

    Practice‑Oriented & Dual Education

    Dual education combines theoretical instruction with practical training inside partner organizations, alternating between classroom and workplace. Assessment is conducted primarily through Project‑Based Learning: students are evaluated on applied skills and completed projects rather than examinations alone.

    In practiceStudents spend part of every semester embedded in a partner company; the portfolio of delivered projects is the transcript.

  • 04

    EdTech & Digital Transformation

    To personalise learning and administration, the Consortium develops digital platforms using AI‑based tutoring, VR/AR and gamification. It also explores distributed ledger technologies for secure tracing and archiving of learning achievements, the same infrastructure that underpins the ISTC credit record.

    In practiceAI tutors, immersive labs, gamified courses, and tamper‑proof learning records.

  • 05

    Global Professional Credit System (ISTC)

    International Science and Technology Credits are the Consortium’s internal unit for documenting and recognising learning achievements across jurisdictions. They are designed to align with existing frameworks such as ECTS while capturing competence earned through work, corporate training and intellectual property.

    In practiceA digital qualification passport that any member institution or employer can read without re‑assessment.

  • 06

    Micro‑credentials & Certification

    Digitally documented attestations that confirm specific skills or competencies. Individually they certify a narrow capability; accumulated and combined, they form a comprehensive record of professional development within the Consortium’s network and feed directly into ISTC credit totals.

    In practiceShort, verifiable credentials that stack into recognised qualifications over time.

  • 07

    Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (Startups)

    Infrastructure, mentorship and advisory support to foster technological entrepreneurship, including the creation of spin‑off entities to commercialise research. A “Founder Friendly” IP policy lets students and researchers retain primary rights to their own initiatives.

    In practiceIncubation inside the network, with the founder keeping the IP.

  • 08

    International Quality Standards

    A core normative goal: to develop and disseminate international guidelines for education quality, research ethics and professional qualifications, and to establish independent, transnational assurance and accreditation processes based on global best practice.

    In practiceIndependent accreditation of programmes and validation centres across member countries.

04 — The Colchis Declaration

A credit system for what people have actually done.

Signed and adopted in Batumi, Georgia on 21 July 2026, the Declaration establishes the International Science and Technology Credits (ISTC): a unit for measuring professional competence earned outside the classroom, in parity with academic degrees.

Credits are awarded for verified outcomes, not seniority. They are stackable over a lifetime, portable across borders, recorded on a distributed ledger, and governed openly by the Concilium Professionalium. Read the full text →

Article IV · Five tracks of professional education

Progress happens at the intersections.

The Declaration argues that in the era of artificial intelligence, isolated disciplines stagnate: AI turns hyper‑specialised hard skills into commodities. The five tracks are therefore designed to be combined, and cross‑disciplinary competence is explicitly rewarded. Select a track to read its scope.

TRACK 4Cyber Sciences

The architecture of digital reality.

Design and evolution of artificial intelligence systems, Big Data, machine learning, quantum computing, cybersecurity architectures, distributed ledgers, and Web3 technologies.

Article III & V · Interactive

ISTC credit estimator

Experience is converted into credits through four validation blocks. Move the sliders to describe a professional profile and see the indicative credit total and qualification level it would map to. One ISTC credit corresponds to roughly 25 hours of verified, outcome‑producing work; each item below is weighted by the typical effort it represents. The final allocation is made by an Authorized Validation Center and confirmed by an Expert Commission.

ACorporate & non‑formal education

Learning outside the classical academic system with direct value for industry. Scored automatically against the Equivalence Matrix.

3

≈ 150 h · 6 credits each

1

≈ 200 h · 8 credits each

3

≈ 50 h · 2 credits each

BProject‑applied activity

Practical experience and leadership in the real economy, verified by deployment acts, repositories or KPI/OKR records.

2

≈ 1000 h · 40 credits each

1

≈ 750 h · 30 credits each

CIntellectual property

Recorded results of innovative, scientific and technical activity.

0

≈ 1000 h · 40 credits each

2

≈ 300 h · 12 credits each

0

≈ 600 h · 24 credits each

DExpert & community track

Recognition of authority by the professional community.

1

≈ 150 h · 6 credits each

3

≈ 50 h · 2 credits each

Indicative total

178ISTC credits

≈ 4,450 hours of verified work

Qualification level

Level I

Professional Associate · Junior / Middle

Progress to Level V (600)

I·60II·180III·300IV·480V·600

2 credits to Level II (Advanced Professional)

Article V · Professional Qualifications Framework

Five levels, defined by responsibility rather than by degree.

The framework deliberately does not mirror Bachelor–Master–PhD. Each level is described by the scale of problems a professional resolves, the capital they have accumulated in the ISTC system, and the corporate rank it typically corresponds to. The top level, Doctor Ex Meritis, restores the original Latin sense of “doctor” as a recognised master and teacher, conferred by decree of the Concilium Professionalium and inscribed on the ledger.

  1. I

    Professional Associate

    Junior / Middle

    60 – 120
  2. II

    Advanced Professional

    Senior

    180 – 240
  3. III

    Principal Expert / Architect

    Lead / Principal / System Architect

    300 – 420
  4. IV

    Technological Leader / Director

    Executive / C‑Level / Head of R&D

    480 – 540
  5. V

    Doctor Ex Meritis

    Pinnacle / Visionary / Industry Legend

    600+ & Council decree

Article III.2 · Validation procedure

From portfolio to ledger in four stages.

Article II · The Colchis Principles

Twelve rules the system cannot break.

The principles govern how credits are awarded, who may award them, how long they remain valid and how the rules themselves may change. They were written so that no single institution, state or vendor can capture the system. Open any principle to read it.

“Gathered in the ancient land of Colchis, which for millennia served as a meeting place for East and West…”

2.1Outcome‑based assessment

ISTC credits are awarded not for time spent in a profession (“seniority”) but for verified results and measurable contributions to industry or science: executed projects, registered patents and certificates, developed technological architectures, scientific publications and the results of independent industrial audits.

2.2Comparability and interoperability

The architecture is an open system designed to integrate with existing international qualification frameworks and academic credit systems, so that competencies transfer transparently between the corporate sector, research institutes and classical higher education anywhere in the world.

2.3Dynamic relevance

Unlike academic degrees granted indefinitely, the system accounts for the rapid obsolescence of technology. Credits in fast‑evolving industries have a lifecycle and must be re‑validated or expanded through the mastery of new stacks and practices.

2.4Decentralization and expert authority

Assessment cannot be monopolised by a single institution or state. It relies on a distributed network of authorised industrial consortia, technology corporations, professional associations and scientific councils with the highest expertise in their fields.

2.5Inclusivity and equal opportunity

Equal access to recognition for every professional regardless of foundational education, geography or employment format. The sole criterion is the individual’s actual professional and intellectual calibre.

2.6Parity between professional and academic tracks

Outcomes of non‑formal, corporate and continuous professional education are recognised on an equal footing with academic achievements. Corporate programmes, internal technological schools and proven practical experience hold equal status, provided their outcomes can be objectively measured and validated.

2.7Lifelong accumulation and stackability

Credits are modular and cumulative. They accompany a professional throughout a career, allowing micro‑credentials to be aggregated over a lifetime and periodically to culminate in advanced global qualifications without returning to baseline academic cycles.

2.8Borderless professional mobility

In the spirit of Colchis as a crossroads, the system operates beyond geopolitical boundaries as a universal, frictionless currency for talent, equally recognised by employers and institutions worldwide.

2.9Technological neutrality and agility

The framework is independent of specific vendors, platforms or market monopolies, and is built to absorb and structure newly emerging stacks, paradigms and methodologies as soon as they appear in the real economy.

2.10Interdisciplinary synergy

Breakthroughs happen at intersections. Cross‑functional competencies such as bio‑informatics, eco‑engineering or tech‑governance are actively valued and categorised, rewarding multi‑faceted expertise profiles that siloed structures fail to accommodate.

2.11Immutable verifiability and data integrity

Verification relies on decentralised ledger technologies and cryptographic signatures. Every awarded credit is anchored in a transparent, immutable registry, allowing instant automated verification by third parties while respecting privacy law.

2.12Transparent and collaborative governance

Criteria, rubrics and methodologies are never proprietary or hidden. They are developed on open‑source principles, subject to continuous peer review, and updated through a collaborative consensus of the global scientific, academic and industrial community.

05 — News & events

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