eIDAS 2.0 compliant generation and management of micro-credentials

This thesis presents the design and development of a digital system for the generation management and verification of micro-credentials in compliance with the eIDAS 2.0 regulation. With the growing demand for trusted and portable academic qualifications across Europe there is a need for secure verifiable and interoperable digital credentials. Our work focuses on applying the concepts of decentralized identity and Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) to enable users to have control over their credentials without relying on centralized authorities. The proposed system leverages the walt.id platform to implement a three-actor architecture consisting of a credential issuer a credential holder and a verifier. The issuer component is responsible for generating Verifiable Credentials (VCs) that are cryptographically signed using elliptic curve key pairs and linked to a Decentralized Identifier (DID). These credentials are delivered to the holder through a secure OpenID4VC flow which ensures compatibility with modern digital identity standards. The holder is represented by a custom-developed mobile wallet application which allows users to receive store and present their credentials when required. The verifier initiates a verification session that checks the authenticity integrity and validity of the credentials in real time using the OpenID4VP protocol. Throughout the project we adhered to the W3C VC data model and integrated the latest standards such as JSON Web Tokens (JWT), OpenID4VC, OpenID4VP, and the use of JWK-based DIDs. We also studied the trusted lists and Qualified Electronic Attestation of Attributes (QEAA) concepts introduced under eIDAS 2.0 to align our system with future regulatory expectations. The end result is a proof-of-concept implementation that showcases how digital micro-credentials can be securely issued and verified in a decentralized manner while maintaining user privacy and regulatory compliance. The findings from this project demonstrate that adopting eIDAS 2.0 principles in combination with open identity standards provides a solid foundation for building trusted digital ecosystems. Our system highlights the feasibility of integrating decentralized technologies in educational and governmental credentialing processes and serves as a step toward the European Digital Identity Wallet initiative.