Digital university: Approaches to the concept definition

Introduction. The modern period of development of higher education is directly related to the ongoing digital transformation of public relations. The changes that occur in universities, in their external interactions and functions, basic principles and value-normative foundations, require methodological analysis and research.

Aim. The aim of the research is to analyse the theoretical approaches to disclosing the concept and essence of digital universities.

Methodology and research methods. The mix-method was used as a research design: qualitative analysis (studying the content of theoretical sources and context, analysing the content of a concept) and quantitative analysis (scientometric analysis of publications and keywords in databases).

Results. The study showed that in the methodological terms, there is a problem of defining the concept of “digital university”: there are several theoretical approaches based on different understanding of the phenomenon and its role in the digital development of the university. The methodological problem is complicated by the urgent need to systematise the practical activities of modern universities, which classify themselves in one way or another in the “digital” format; therefore, this is much more difficult to do without a coordinated approach to the concept itself.

Scientific novelty lies in an attempt to systematise theoretical approaches to defining the concept of “digital university” and the problem of the absence of a holistic interdisciplinary approach has been identified.

Practical significance of the study is associated with the need to develop a regulatory model of a digital university based on a holistic concept for the subsequent analysis of the activities of universities. The results of the analysis can be used in scientific discussion to further define the concept of “digital university” and develop a general model of a digital university.

1. Williamson B., Macgilchrist F., Potter J. Covid-19 controversies and critical research in digital education. Learning, Media and Technology. 2021; 46 (2): 117–127. DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2021.1922437

2. Bannykh G., Kostina S. The emergency transition of higher education institutions to new educational technologies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A case from Russia. In: INTED2021 Proceedings; 2021 Mar 7–9; Valencia, Spain. 2021. p. 9870–9876. DOI: 10.21125/inted.2021.2053

3. Ibáñez J. S., Juarros V. М. Las diferentes concepciones de la universidad digital en Iberoamérica. RIED. 2018; 21 (2): 97–119. DOI: 10.5944/ried.21.2.20653 (In Spanish)

4. Jones Ch., Goodfellow R. The “Digital University”: Discourse, theory, and evidence. International Journal of Learning and Media. 2014; 4 (3-4): 59–63. DOI: 10.1162/IJLM_a_00103

5. Sitnicki M. Development of a model of digital research universities. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies. 2018; 81 (1): 635–638. DOI: 10.30525/2256-0742/2018-4-1-311-318

6. Jones C. The digital university: A concept in need of definition. In: Goodfellow R., Lea M. R. (Eds.). Literacy in the digital university. Critical perspectives on learning, scholarship, and technology. London: Routledge; 2013. p. 162–172. DOI: 10.4324/9780203074510

7. Itinson K. S. Modern digital universities: Features of creation and development. Regional’nyj vestnik = Regional Bulletin [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2022 Feb 10]; 17 (32): 36–38. Available from: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=41086741 (In Russ.)

8. Siemens G., Gašević D., Dawson S. Preparing for the digital university: A review of the history and current state of distance, blended and online learning. Athabasca, Canada: Athabasca University Press; 2015. 234 p. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3515.8483

9. Sheail Ph. The digital university and the shifting time–space of the campus. Learning, Media and Technology. 2018; 43 (1): 56–69. DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2017.1387139

10. Garg A. K. Digital university. Next generation approach towards education. In: INTED2021 Proceedings; 2011 Mar 7–9; Valencia, Spain. 2011. p. 6243–6247.

11. Verkhova G. V., Akimov S. V. Continuous information support of the life cycle of basic educational programs within the digital university. Planning and Teaching Engineering Staff for the Industrial and Economic Complex of the Region. 2019; 1: 15–18. DOI: 10.17816/PTES26290 (In Russ.)

12. Kirilova D. A. Estimation of the parameters of a distributed ledger network in a digital university. In: Skvoznye tehnologii cifrovoj jekonomiki. Sbornik statej = End-to-End Technologies of the Digital Economy. Collection of articles. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University of Economics; 2019 [cited 2022 Feb 10]. p. 45–50. Available from: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=42476241 (In Russ.)

13. Pozdneev B. M., Sutyagin M. V., Tikhomirova V. D., Adamova Yu. S. Substantiation of the conceptual model of the profile of standards for creating the architecture of a digital technological university. Vestnik MGTU Stankin = Bulletin of the MGTU Stankin [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2022 Feb 10]; 50 (3): 97–102. Available from: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=41485795 (In Russ.)

14. Konkin A. A. Digitalization of education: Overcoming barriers and risks on the way to the digital university of the future. Vestnik Omskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Gumanitarnye issledovanija = Bulletin of the Omsk State Pedagogical University. Humanities Research. 2020; 27 (2): 136–140. DOI: 10.36809/2309-9380-2020-27-136-140 (In Russ.)

15. Gourlay L., Oliver M. Student engagement in the digital university: Sociomaterial assemblages. UK: Taylor and Francis; 2018. DOI: 10.4324/9781315647524

16. Kuzina G. P. The concept of digital transformation of a classical university into a “digital university”. E-Management. 2020; 2: 89–96. DOI: 10.26425/2658-3445-2020-2-89-96 (In Russ.)

17. Grigoriev S. G., Mishota I. Y. Digital university: An actual paradigm of the education informatization. In: Proceedings of the 1st International Scientific Conference “Modern Management Trends and the Digital Economy: From Regional Development to Global Economic Growth (MTDE 2019); 2019 Apr 14–15. Vol. 81. Ekaterinburg, Russia; 2019. p. 635–638.

18. Nadin M. Anticipating the digital university. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Digital Society: ICDS 2009; 2009 Feb 1–7; Cancun, Mexico. 2009. p. 190–195. DOI: 10.1109/ICDS.2009.49

19. Shal A. V. “Digital university” – a new model of education. In: Materialy mezhdunarodnoj nauchno-prakticheskoj konferencii “Nauka o dannyh” = Materials of the International Scientific-Practical Conference “Data Science” [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2022 Feb 10]. p. 321–322. Available from: https://issras.ru/docs/sbornik05-02-2020.pdf (In Russ.)

20. Kurbatskiy V. N. The digital footprint in the educational space as the basis for the transformation of a modern university. Вышэйшая школа: навукова-метадычны і публіцыстычны часопіс [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2022 Feb 10]; 133 (5): 40–45. Available from: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=42299696 (In Russ.)

21. Peters M. A., Jandrić P. The digital university: A dialogue and manifesto. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.; 2018. DOI: 10.3726/b11314

22. Johnston B., MacNeill S., Smyth K. Conceptualising the digital university the intersection of policy, pedagogy and practice. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan; 2018. DOI: 10.1007/9783-319-99160-3

23. Grinshkun V. V., Krasnova G. A. Virtual universities: Factors of success and development prospects. Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Serija: Informatizacija obrazovanija = Bulletin of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. Series: Informatization of Education. 2018; 15 (1): 7–17. DOI: 10.22363/2312-8631-2018-15-1-7-17 (In Russ.)

24. Klimov A. A., Zarechkin E. Yu., Kupriyanovskiy V. P. On the digital ecosystem of a modern university. Sovremennye informacionnye tehnologii i IT-obrazovanie = Modern Information Technologies and IT Education. 2019; 4: 815–824. DOI: 10.25559/SITITO.15.201904.815-824 (In Russ.)

25. Mbombo A. B., Cavus N. Smart university: A university in the technological age. TEM Journal. 2021; 10 (1): 13–17. DOI: 10.18421/TEM101-02

26. Mitrofanova Y. S., Sherstobitova A. A., Filippova O. A. Modeling the assessment of definition of a smart university infrastructure development level. In: Uskov V., Howlett R., Jain L. (Eds.). Smart education and e-learning 2019. Smart innovation, systems and technologies. Vol. 144. Singapore: Springer; 2019. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-8260-4_50

27. Kostina S. N. IT infrastructure of regional universities as the basis of digital transformation. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz = University Management: Practice and Analysis. 2021; 26 (3): 14–32. DOI: 10.15826/umpa.2021.03.024 (In Russ.)

28. Bannykh G. A., Kostina S. N. Conceptualisation of the concept of digital maturity of a university in the context of digital transformation of higher education. Vestnik majkopskogo gosudarstvennogo tehnologicheskogo universiteta = Bulletin of the Maikop State Technological University. 2022; 1 (14): 120–130. DOI: 10.47370/2078-1024-2022-14-1-110-120 (In Russ.)