Tendencies and Elements of Digitalization in Albanian Universities

Abstract

The increase in the competitiveness of subjects in the field of Albanian education, the construction of university ranking systems and the continuous flow of students because of demographic indicators have made it necessary to introduce the elements of university 4.0 in higher education institutions. For this, it is indispensable not only to change the teaching and learning process, because this is always necessary, but above all, the transformation and modernization of the digital material base, the widest possible use of digital platforms, digital classrooms, digital laboratories, and many other elements are required. In this paper we try to identify and analyze the elements of University 4.0 in Albania. The results of a research that includes a representative sample of more than 40% of accredited Albanian PU (Private Universities) until 2022 are presented at the end of the paper. They are interviewed to document their perception of the University 4.0 elements in their institutions. After this, with a structured survey according to the relevant areas of digitization identified in the EU “Next generation” program for education, indicators were built that evidence the elements of university 4.0. in these same institutions. The presented data allow us to offer some initial reflections on the scale of the digital transition of Albanian Universities and the acceleration of this process in the field of education and secondary education.   Received: 25 January 2024 / Accepted: 26 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024