Digital Transformation in Higher Education - Fundamentals and Perspectives

According to the European Commission, digital transformation represents the rethinking and redesign of business processes through the use of technology to improve resource efficiency and performance [2].

Although they are often mentioned together, there is a clear distinction between digitalization, automation, and digital transformation, both in theory and practice. Each of these terms represents a different level of change in how organizations use digital technologies, even though they often appear in the same technological or business context. Unlike digitalization, where analogue content is converted into digital form, and automation, which optimizes existing processes, digital transformation involves a deeper strategic shift. It implies redesigning core processes and creating entirely new approaches that would not be possible without digital technology.

The characteristics of digital transformation include [3]:

1. Comprehensiveness – transformation affects all levels and departments of an organization. For example, when a higher education institution introduces an e-learning system, it involves not only teachers and students who primarily use the system, but also technical support staff who enroll participants, resolve technical issues, and provide instructions, and management that plans system upgrades.
2. User orientation – digital solutions should be focused on user needs. In education, this means building a personalized learning experience for students (e.g., introducing HyFlex teaching, where students choose between attending classes physically, online synchronously, or asynchronously).
3. Agility – organizations must be ready to respond quickly to changes. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities switched to online learning within days, demonstrating the power of digital agility. More about agility will be covered in the final topic of this course.
4. Data awareness – the use of data for decision-making has become a standard. The development of various learning analytics systems is in full swing, and one of the courses in the program "Managing the Digitalization of Educational Institutions" offered by CARNET is dedicated entirely to learning analytics (Learning Analytics) as a powerful tool for monitoring student performance and making timely decisions to prevent dropouts and ensure a positive learning experience. Student progress monitoring systems enable teachers to approach each student individually and improve teaching quality. Alongside learning analytics, it is also important to practically implement the concept of open education and science, which you can learn more about in the third course in the program "Managing the Digitalization of Educational Institutions", entitled Open Education and Open Science.
5. Technological integration – the integration of tools such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and IoT devices enables new ways of managing educational processes.

In addition to the above, the characteristics of a digital organization also include innovation and organizational culture.