How proof-based certification works

The five steps

1. 01

   Step 1

   Enroll

   Pick a premium course. Before you pay, you can read its brief: the project you will build, how it will be tested and the rubric reviewers use.

   You get

   Course modules, the project brief and rubric, mentor access

   You need

   The free notes the course builds on, or the same background

   Takes

   6–12 weeks, at your pace

2. 02

   Step 2

   Build the project

   Build something that works: a pipeline, a model, a service, a notebook. Mentors review your build as you go, so problems surface before formal review, not during it.

   The brief says

   What it must do, on which data, and how it will be tested

   Mentor feedback

   Written, on your repository, at each milestone

   Leaves on the record

   Nothing yet. Your work stays private until you submit

3. 03

   Step 3

   Submit your proof

   Submit the code, a demo and a short write-up of what it does and how you tested it. Your submission gets a proof ID and a version, and goes on the public ledger.

   You submit

   Code · demo · write-up · test results

   It gets

   AI-PRF-0042 · v1.0.0

   Leaves on the record

   The proof, public from this point on

4. 04

   Step 4

   Three-stage review

   Your proof is reviewed by the Institute, then the Community, then the Public. Each stage must pass before the next one opens. Every review stays on the record, including requests for changes.

   ✓

   InstituteCommunityPublic

   Stage 1 · Institute

   The Institute’s editorial board.

   It installs from your instructions, runs, and does what the brief asks on the test data. Every source is cited.

   about 1 week

   Stage 2 · Community

   Two or three community reviewers with experience in the field.

   They test it against the rubric, try to break it, and accept it or request changes in writing.

   2–3 weeks

   Stage 3 · Public

   Anyone. The proof, the code and the reviews so far are public.

   Anyone can rerun it and comment. An unresolved objection holds the certificate until it is answered.

   at least 2 weeks open
5. ✓

   Step 5

   Certificate issued

   Your certificate says what you proved, carries the Verified Proof Seal and a certificate ID, and links to the proof and every review. Anyone can check it by ID, for as long as it stands.

   Example

   Applied Cybersecurity Engineering

   Built a working intrusion-detection pipeline, reviewed in public. See the certificate and its record