Digital Transformation in Higher Education for Developing Countries: Systematic Literature Approach

This article examines the impact of digital transformation on economic processes in the higher education system in Ukraine. The process of digital transformation in higher education in Ukraine, which has been significantly intensified by the full-scale war, is accompanied by a number of economic effects that confirm its potential as a tool for stabilization and development in the context of the socio-economic crisis. The study aims to analyze and structure research trends related to the digital transformation of the higher education system in Ukraine using a bibliometric approach and to show the impact of their application on the economy. For this purpose, we used the VOSviewer software to assess academic publications in the Scopus database, allowing us to study and visualize the relationships between key terms in this field. Additionally, Google Trends was used to assess the popularity of key search queries, providing insights into public interest in the topic. The analysis is based on scientific publications indexed in Scopus. The analysis highlights a significant increase in scientific interest in the digital transformation of economic processes in universities in recent years worldwide. The research shows that Ukraine is a leader in the number of publications dedicated to digital technologies for education in wartime economies. The challenges faced by universities, starting from the COVID-19 pandemic and followed by the war, have significantly contributed to this increase in academic attention to improving the efficiency of higher education delivery. The data obtained indicates that, despite the current situation, Ukraine continues to implement digital transformation mechanisms at both the state and private institutional levels. This study lays the groundwork for future research on the digital transformation of education during crises and post-war economic recovery.

The improvements in digital technologies have changed societies in many ways. This process is commonly called “digital transformation.” Many sectors have been affected by digital transformation, including higher education institutions. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in 2019 in China, triggered the use of digital technologies in everyday activities and at every level of education. This chapter primarily presents the process of digital transformation in higher education by giving examples from various countries based on recent research, providing challenges of digital transformation of higher education, and then examining the challenges and reflections of the COVID-19 pandemic on the digital transformation of higher education. Lastly, the current situation is evaluated, and suggestions are proposed.

The terms, data science and digital transformation, have been popular in corporative activities and services. This trend implicates higher education as well. In addition, the coronavirus crisis accelerates digital transformation in higher education. Almost all universities use distance education to adapt the crisis. Many stakeholders including faculties and students understand pros and cons of distance education. This situation is a good chance of catching up with digital transformation in higher education. This article describes data science education and digital transformation in higher education toward Society 5.0.

Background: Digital transformation refers to applying digital technology in various fields of society. In the last 5 years, digital transformation has spread to most areas of social life, including education. However, research on digital transformation in education is still fragmented. Objectives: The aim of the study was to present a comprehensive review of studies on digital transformation in education using bibliometric analysis. Methods: We searched the Scopus database from inception to 1 January 2023 using the search terms ‘digital transformation’ AND ‘education’ within abstracts, keywords, or titles of journal articles or conference papers written in English. The retrieved articles were analysed using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny tools. Results: A total of 1329 relevant studies were retrieved. Although the first paper in this field was published in 1999, the number of publications has increased rapidly only in the past 4 years. The most influential countries in this field are the developed countries (Russian Federation, Germany, and the United States), but scholars from the developing countries (Indonesia and Thailand) are among the most productive. Papers on digital transformation are frequently published in journals with lower rankings within the Scopus database. Using VOSviewer for keyword co-occurrence analysis, we classified the research topics related to digital transformation in educa-tion into four main groups: digital transformation in higher education under the impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic 2019 pandemic, applying the technolo-gies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to education, digitization and digital compe-tence in education in the context of digital transformation, and learning forms using technology (for example, e-learning, m-learning, and blended learning) in higher-education institutions. Conclusions: Four research trends related to digital transformation in education were identified. These trends may also change as digital transformation continues to develop.

Digital transformation in higher education has become a strategic issue that requires institutional readiness to integrate technology into academic management and educational services. This study aims to analyze the level of readiness of higher education institutions, identify the influencing factors, and describe the implementation and challenges of digital transformation in higher education management. The research employs a qualitative approach with a case study strategy, utilizing data collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation, which are analyzed using triangulation techniques and thematic coding. The findings indicate that digital transformation readiness is determined by three main dimensions, namely technological infrastructure, human resource competence, and organizational culture, which collectively influence the effectiveness of digital system implementation. In addition, the study reveals that the primary challenges include limited financial resources, low digital literacy, and resistance to change. This research contributes to strengthening a multidimensional perspective on digital transformation and offers practical implications for higher education administrators in designing more adaptive, integrated, and sustainable digitalization strategies.

Amid the remarkable development of information technology and scientific and technical advancements, combined with the trend of international economic integration, particularly in education, as well as the post-COVID-19 cultural shift, managing changes in university education has become crucial. Consequently, educational institutions are not immune to changes in teaching activities (methods, tools, and techniques). The purpose of the study is to identify and measure the influence of factors on students’ perceptions of the digital transformation in higher education. Implications are then proposed for the university and relevant stakeholders to prepare resources for digital transformation in higher education and enhance students’ self-learning spirit. The article reviews relevant studies and utilizes an expert method to formulate survey questions. The survey is conducted on 220 students at Tra Vinh University, and the data is processed using descriptive statistics and mean value statistics. The results identify six factors that students believe have an impact on the digital transformation in university education: the lecturer, the educational institution, the family, the trend of the times, the perception of the benefits of digital transformation, and personal competence.

Digital transformation is ubiquitous, affecting all aspects of human life and benefiting the performance of organisations. Existing literature has shown that implementing digital transformation in higher education institutions remains a challenge. HEIs are unaccustomed to the radical shifts of this transformation and the course of digital transformation in higher education faces several barriers. These barriers impede organisations from realising the potential benefits of in universities. Consequently, the barriers were categorised into contextual, social, technical, and cultural.

Digital transformation contributes to the creation of a modern educational ecosystem focused on training specialists capable of operating effectively in a digital environment. The article presents a comprehensive study of the process of formation and development of digital transformation in higher education institutions. The author identifies and characterizes four main stages of digitalization of the educational process. The proposed periodization allows tracing the evolution of digital changes in higher education, from the initial use of computing technology to the implementation of modern intelligent digital technologies and advanced educational platforms. The article analyzes contemporary scientific approaches to defining the concept of “digital transformation,” its stages, goals, and implementation features within the higher education system. Special attention is given to the technological factors of digitalization, which significantly influence the restructuring of the content, forms, and methods of learning, as well as the management of educational institutions. The impact of digital technologies on ensuring accessibility, continuity, and individualization of the learning process – key components of the modern concept of lifelong learning – is revealed. Some challenges accompanying digital transformation in higher education are identified, including digital inequality between regions, disparities in the technical equipment of institutions, ambiguous perceptions of digitalization by administrators and educators, and the urgent need to enhance the digital competence of all participants in the educational process. The article outlines prospects for further research on updating methodological approaches for training specialists in a digital environment, developing effective models of digital competence for teachers and students, and improving state educational policy regarding the digitalization of higher education in Ukraine. The importance of continued analysis of the social, technological, and pedagogical aspects of digital transformation is highlighted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation (DT) across various industries, including higher education (HE). In response to the dynamic demands of contemporary society, higher education institutions (HEIs) must swiftly adapt and transform. However, existing research has revealed a prevalent lack of strategic vision regarding DT in HE, often limited to the mere integration of technology. This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) as a methodological framework to identify and categorize DT challenges and strategies within HE accelerated after the pandemic event. Findings from this SLR highlight four distinct categories of challenges and strategies in DT: Strategic-Administrative, Teaching-Learning, Technical-Technological, and Social-Cultural. Notably, the literature tends to focus more on identifying challenges, revealing an unbalanced emphasis compared to analyzing how HEIs are actively progressing in their DT efforts. Furthermore, there is a significant absence of impact analysis regarding these DT strategies within HE. To address these gaps, recommendations for future research are proposed, including (i) Exploration of strategic processes in HE toward DT, (ii) Empirical analysis of the Digital Maturity of HEIs, and (iii) Assessment of the impact of the strategic responses of HE toward DT. In conclusion, this study underscores the urgency for a more strategic approach to DT in HE, emphasizing the need to shift the focus from technology integration toward holistic, effective, and outcome-driven strategies. These recommendations aim to guide future research toward a more interdisciplinary and comprehensive understanding of DT within the realm of HE. Received: 15 April 2024 | Revised: 6 June 2024 | Accepted: 2 September 2024 Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in SLR Data selection and extraction.xlsx. Author Contribution Statement María Luisa Nieto-Taborda: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization. Rocci Luppicini: Conceptualization, Validation, Writing - review & editing, Supervision.

Due to the epidemic situation in 2020, the world has fallen into economic stagnation. Compared with the past, the EDUCAUSE horizon report released in 2020 focuses on the influencing factors of economy, technology, and other dimensions from the perspective of higher education development. For exploring the digital transformation and future development trend of Chinese higher education, this paper analyzes the digital transformation trend of Chinese higher education in 2020.The paper combined with the teaching experience and thinking interview research of front-line teachers, we conclude that Chinese digital transformation mainly relies on the Internet construction. But the current situation is that there are some problems in the matching of infrastructure construction and actual education. This requires educators to jump out of the traditional teaching cognition and make more digital information textbook design for online teaching to it can really help and improve the efficiency of online and offline flexible teaching.

This systematic literature review investigates the digital transformation landscape in higher education across African nations, focusing on current trends and prospects. As digital technologies continue to reshape educational practices globally, the study employs diffusion of innovation as a theoretical framework to understand the impact of digital transformation on the development of higher education in African contexts. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing research, this study synthesises critical findings regarding the adoption, implementation, and outcomes of digital transformation initiatives in African higher education institutions. The review explores various dimensions, including technological infrastructure, pedagogical approaches, student engagement, faculty development, and institutional strategies. Additionally, it identifies challenges and opportunities associated with digital transformation efforts and highlights implications for policy, practice, and research in the African higher education sector. By synthesising insights from diverse scholarly works, this review offers valuable perspectives for stakeholders aiming to navigate the complexities of digital transformation in higher education within African contexts.

The new paradigms that are emerging because of technological and social advances derived from the massive use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are generating a transformative process that is modifying all economic sectors, and education is no exception. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are carrying out such transformation, reacting to the need of adaptation to this new reality, experiencing a complete cultural change that is challenging the attitudes, actions and values shared by the members and stakeholders of these organizations. In order to analyze the scientific literature about this topic, a bibliometric analysis has been carried out covering the period 1900–2021, considering a sample of 469 articles included in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The results show the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, including articles published in different areas, as well as its close link with aspects such as innovation, governance and agile methodologies. Finally, this study highlights the main lines of research that could attract more attention in the immediate future.

The article presents a theoretical and methodological overview of various authors’ positions and interpretations in solving the basic issues and problems associated with the study of the process of digital transformation of higher education in the context of a digital society. Particular attention in the study is paid to the features of digital transformation in the educational space of the EU, as well as the challenges facing the Ukrainian system of higher education in the context of European integration. As a result, key areas of digital transformation of education were identified within the paradigm of connectivism, aimed at updating the content, forms, and methods of professional training in higher education in the context of digital realities.

The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 have directly impacted public health systems and government finances, causing great losses to the economy. The effect of COVID-19 has been such that it is leading many corporations from various sectors to bankruptcy. Faced with this framework, universities must respond, adapt and make decisions to maintain them and overcome the crisis stage, that is, to become a resilient institution.Focusing on digitalization, recently it has become a fundamental and strategic activity for the performance of higher education institutions where universities have been forced to immerse themselves in innovative initiatives that allow them to promote their growth. In this way, the pandemic has led companies, and particularly higher education institutions, to reinvent themselves through digital transformation.Currently, universities have great opportunities at hand through digitalization. Recently, COVID-19 restrictions, regulations, and the capacity to release staff time for mandatory training were drivers for this project. In this regard, digitalization in higher education institutions is still a controversial issue within the academic community and poses some unique challenges for educational leaders and managers. The distinctive nature of higher education institutions results in a complex influence on the digital transformation in education. But evidence has shown that a crisis can act as either a catalyst of or an inhibitor to innovation in higher education institutions, and therefore the crisis context and resulting strategic responses create important and interesting questions for educational scholars. Even though its importance, there are few studies that focus on the effect of COVID-19 in higher education institutions.This study contributes to the growing literature on how higher education institutions innovate in times of the unique crisis produced by COVID-19 analysing: 1) the leader and manager profile in higher education institutions, 2) the type, private or public character of the institutions, and 3) the pandemic impact. We shed light on the confusing and puzzle findings in the literature regarding the profile and personal status of leaders and managers in higher education institutions, together with evidence on the unequal impact on digitalization at universities. The authors conducted an exploratory research through interview method to 81 leaders and managers focusing on Latin American institutions from September 1 to October 30 at 2020 matching procedures to test the hypotheses. With the aim to measure the digital transformation in higher education in times of crisis in Latin America, the data collection was divided into two separate consultations: (1) leaders in higher education institutions, and (2) representatives across the institution (that is, comprehensive consultation) because they could facilitate information from as many different sectors as possible within institutions involved in activities related to digital transformation.For this, after reviewing the literature, we will present our theoretical framework and analysis of the hypotheses being tested in our study. We describe the variables used in our analysis in the data and variables section. Next, we present the empirical method used and the results. Finally, in the Discussion section we discuss the main findings and their implications. Also, in the Conclusion section, we summary the main ideas of our paper.

The digital economy and digital technologies have completely reshaped the modern business world. The subject of this paper is understanding of the evolution of digital transformation, starting from digitization, through digitalization to digital transformation. The aim of the research is to indicate the necessity of digital transformation of universities, as well as certain advantages, disadvantages and the examples of application of digital technologies in higher education. The digital future of higher education is initially based on a comparative analysis of the degree of digitalization of the higher education sector in the Republic of Serbia and EU member countries and nonEU countries, then examining the degree of existence of digital culture in the higher education sector, both providing the necessary leadership in the process of accepting digital culture. Also, this process necessarily requires designing solutions and formulating strategies for the digital transformation of the higher education sector. This article is the first in a series of articles dedicated to digital transformation in higher education.