Principles, organisation, and methods of digitally transformed universities

14 pages•Published: January 13, 2025

Markus von der Heyde, Andreas Hartmann, Matthias Goebel and Tobias Bochmann

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face challenges in adopting digital practices. Neither newly founded nor existing institutions can yet be considered digitally transformed. One important reason for this is the lack of experts which are capable of driving digital transformation (Dx). This shortage of skilled labour for Dx is not only visible in HEIs but throughout society. The solution to this shortage may lie in providing qualified teaching of Dx at the university level in a highly digitised ecosystem that applies Dx to itself. Experiencing digital transformation in problem-based learning scenarios can facilitate a deeper understanding of the methods involved. Breaking up academic programmes into smaller learning units may facilitate lifelong learning and professional development, particularly for experienced individuals. This paper presents the organisational, educational, and scientific perspective of the Digital University (DU) as a mature digital ecosystem which implements this vision for society. The highly interrelated principles between the core functions of the DU enable optimal growth as well as financial and environmental sustainability. The paper discusses bootstrapping new institutions as well as transforming existing universities into this digital ecosystem. In consequence, this paper envisions the DU as a realistic future scenario, which might develop a disruptive power enabling Dx for all HEIs in the long run.

Keyphrases: digital ecosystem, digital platform, digital transformation, disruption, dx, higher education, microdegree, sustainability

In: Raimund Vogl, Laurence Desnos, Jean-François Desnos, Spiros Bolis, Lazaros Merakos, Gill Ferrell, Effie Tsili and Manos Roumeliotis (editors). Proceedings of EUNIS 2024 annual congress in Athens, vol 105, pages 200-213.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/dcpR
	https://doi.org/10.29007/s2h9

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{EUNIS2024:Principles_organisation_methods_digitally,
  author    = {Markus von der Heyde and Andreas Hartmann and Matthias Goebel and Tobias Bochmann},
  title     = {Principles, organisation, and methods of digitally transformed universities},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of EUNIS 2024 annual congress in Athens},
  editor    = {Raimund Vogl and Laurence Desnos and Jean-François Desnos and Spiros Bolis and Lazaros Merakos and Gill Ferrell and Effie Tsili and Manos Roumeliotis},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Computing},
  volume    = {105},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2398-7340},
  url       = {/publications/paper/dcpR},
  doi       = {10.29007/s2h9},
  pages     = {200-213},
  year      = {2025}}

Download PDF Open PDF in browser