Digital ecosystem as an instrument of digital transformation of the university

Abstract

Digital transformation is inevitable, regardless of the personal attitude of people to this issue. Researchers distinguish between organizational transformation using digital technologies (identity enhancement) and digital transformation (creating a new identity). In other words, digital technologies can become a tool for non-systemic transformations of existing structures, but thanks to understanding their nature, one can find ourselves in a situation of evolution of the structures themselves and, accordingly, the daily life of a person and social practices. The article proposes the concept of the digital ecosystem of the university as an instrument of digital transformation, which contributes to the development of the digital transformation methodology and can be used as the basis for the digital maturity index of the university and the development of a calculation formula. The research findings may be of interest to policymakers in charge of digital transformation policy at universities. The article reveals that in scientific periodicals the term "ecosystem" is interpreted in three semantic clusters: business ecosystem; innovative ecosystems; digital ecosystems. In this study, the concept of an ecosystem is interpreted in the context of digital transformation in relation to the digital environment of the university. The digital ecosystem is an instrumental concept, i.e. a means of digital transformation that reconstructs the environment and identity of the university. The digital ecosystem as a means of digital transformation, formulated by the author of the article, structurally contains the following elements: digital environment, which includes information and technical infrastructure; interaction participants (stakeholders); system of connections between participants; involvement of participants; the functions of the university reflected in the figure; idea and values, including regarding digital technologies; digital productivity and adequacy (implementation of digital solutions used by participants to maintain the ecosystem). A digital university is not only about having a network architecture or a digitally packaged educational product. It is also about the participants, their engagement, values and digital productivity. It should be borne in mind that if digital data is a raw material for the digital economy, then digital productivity becomes an important element of human digital activity.