New Digital Identity Course Explores the Identity Layer of Digital Public Infrastructure

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) depends on three foundational layers: digital identity, digital payments, and data exchange. Of the three, digital identity sits at the centre, as any successful DPI system needs to be able to assign and verify users with a unique identity, enabling them to make use of the other associated services.  

Successfully navigating and implementing identity systems as part of DPI means understanding how these systems work and the ecosystem in which they operate. It also requires professionals to know how these systems are governed and how they integrate with the other layers of payments and data exchange.  

Major shifts in data privacy, data regulation, security concerns, authentication and verification technology, advancing generative artificial intelligence (AI), the need for proof of personhood, and the growing push for decentralised identity systems all significantly impact identity systems and related DPI.  

Because of the centrality of digital identity to DPI systems and the major developments in the field, we have designed our Digital Public Infrastructure Essentials: The Identity Layer course to be a four-week online learning experience to equip professionals with a practical understanding of digital identity within a Digital Public Infrastructure context.  

This four-week course includes four modules, namely:  

• Module 1: Building the Language of Identity 
• Module 2: Public and Public-Private Models of Digital Identity 
• Module 3: Private Models of Digital Identity  
• Module 4: Applications of Digital Identity for DPI and Beyond 

Building on our Introduction to Digital Public Infrastructure (iDPI) course, this is the next step for professionals looking to develop more specialised DPI knowledge. iDPI is not a prerequisite, although some familiarity with DPI is recommended. This course gives you the strategic knowledge needed to engage with digital identity systems critically, evaluate leading models, navigate the evolving landscape and emerging technologies, and apply international best practice all within a DPI context.  

Participants will learn to: 

• Define the core language and identify the main concepts of the field of digital identity 
• Explain how digital identity functions as the identity layer of DPI alongside digital payments and data exchange.  
• Describe leading models of digital identity provision, both public and private, and how they fit within the broader DPI stack  
• Appraise a digital identity scheme against good practice, as well as current and emerging DPI safeguard frameworks 
• Apply their knowledge to develop or critique a digital identity strategy for an entity operating within a DPI context, accounting for inclusion, risk, and safeguarding considerations.  

The Digital Public Infrastructure Essentials: The Identity Layer course is designed for professionals across government, regulation, development and the private sector who want to deepen their understanding of one of the most critical layers of DPI. Participants will explore public, private, and hybrid digital ID models, current standards, safeguarding frameworks, and emerging good practice, while building the knowledge to assess and shape digital identity strategies. 

View our brochure to apply for our next cohort on 26 October 2026. 

 

(Article also shared on Digital Frontiers on 11 September 2026)