Digitalization of German Higher Education and the Role of Europe
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v16ix.6066Keywords:
Bologna Process, digitalization, European Union, Germany, higher educationAbstract
Although it is a highly developed industrial country and generally known as technologically savvy, Germany lags internationally in digital transformation. Moreover, Germany’s progress in Higher Education (HE) is uneven since 16 federal states have responsibility for education, including Higher Education. The pandemic has reinforced the importance as much as accelerated the transition to digitalization in HE. Although HE leaders see digitalization as important for research, service, and management, they emphasize that digital transformation has meaning for teaching and learning. The new digitally-based formats of teaching and learning—for example “blended learning” and so-called “inverted classroom” formats—benefit students most as they motivate and engage them more than does traditional classroom-based education. As Germany is a member of the European Union (EU) and a signatory of the Bologna Process, European policies, programs, guidelines, and agreements also affect Germany’s digital transformation.
References
Academic Cooperation Association (2023). Digital education in Europe: Focus on skills and enabling factors. https://aca-secretariat.be/newsletter/digital-education-focus-on-skills-and-enabling-factors/?titleId=9&articleId=118&edition=2023¤t=0
Bils, A., Brand, H., & Pellert, A. (2019). Hochschulen im digitalen Wandel—Bedarfe und Strategien (Digital transformation of higher education institutions - needs and strategies). APuZ, 27(69), 42-46.
Bundesregierung (German Federal Government) (2021). Shaping digitalization. https://www.bundesregierung.de/resource/blob/992814/1605342/284988700922725d63a0fb95db824024/digitalsierung-gestalten-englisch-download-bpa-data.pdf
Distel, B. (2022). Digitalwüste Deutschland? Digitalisierungsstand im internationalen Vergleich (Digital desert Germany? The status of digitalization in international comparison) APuZ, 72(10-11), 49-54.
European Center for Digital Competitiveness (2023). Digitalreport (Digitalization - State of the art). https://digital-competitiveness.eu/wp-content/uploads/ESCP014_Digitalreport-2023.pdf
European Commission (2016). Improving and modernising education. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52016DC0941&from=EN
European Commission (2017). Erasmus+ annual report 2016 - statistical annex.
European Commission (2018). General data protection regulation. https://gdpr-info.eu/
European Commission. (2019). Europe’s digital decade. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/europes-digital-decade-digital-targets-2030_en
European Commission (2020a). Communication on the European skills agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness, and resilience. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0274
European Commission (2020b). Communication on the digital education action plan 2021-2027. Resetting education and training for the digital age. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0624
European Commission (2020c). The European Higher Education Area in 2020 - Bologna process implementation report. https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/publications/european-higher-education-area-2020-bologna-process-implementation-report
European Commission (2022a). The digital economy and society index (DESI) 2022 - EU countries' performance in digitisation.
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/countries-digitisation-performance
European Commission (2022b). European declaration on digital rights and principles for the
digital decade. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-declaration-digital-rights-and-principles.
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2018). The European Higher Education Area in 2018: Bologna process implementation report. https://doi.org/10.2797/63509
European Council (2022). Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability. https://education.ec.europa.eu/education-levels/higher-education/micro-credentials
European Parliament (2018). Regulation establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving services. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018R1724&qid=1690722361200
European Union (2007) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. ttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12016ME%2FTXT
Franzen, M. (2018). Die digitale Transformation der Wissenschaft (The digital transformation of science). Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung, 4. https://www.bzh.bayern.de/fileadmin/news_import/4_2018_Gesamt.pdf#page=12
Füssel, H.P., & Wolter, A. (2013). Germany. In: C. J. Russo, (ed.), Handbook of Comparative Higher Education Law (pp. 121-134). https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475804034/Handbook-of-Comparative-Higher-Education-Law
Gilch, H., Beise, A. S., Krempkow, R., Müller, M., Stratmann, F., & Wannemacher, K. (2020). Survey on the status of digitization at German HEI. https://www.eunis.org/download/2020/EUNIS_2020_paper_82.pdf
Hochschulforum Digitalisierung - HFD (German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age) (2016). Discussion paper 20: Theses on digital teaching and learning in higher education.
Hochschulforum Digitalisierung - HFD (German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age) (2017). The digital turn – pathways for higher education in the digital age. https://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/sites/default/files/dateien/HFD_Final_Report_english.pdf
Hochschulforum Digitalisierung - HFD (Higher Education Forum on Digitalization) (German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age) (2020). Bologna digital 2020: White paper on digitalisation in the European Higher Education Area. https://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/en/news/white-paper-bologna-digital-2020-digitalisation-of-higher-education-in-europe/
Hochschulforum Digitalisierung - HFD (Higher Education Forum on Digitalization) (German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age) (2021). Digitalisierung in Studium und Lehre gemeinsam gestalten – Innovative Formate, Strategien und Netzwerke (Cooperative digitalization of learning and teaching – innovative formats, strategies, and networks). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-32849-8
Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK – German Rectors’ Conference) (2021). Resolution: Appeal to the federal government and states to further develop digital teaching infrastructures. https://www.hrk.de/resolutionspublications/resolutions/beschluss/detail/utilising-the-momentum-of-digitalisation-appeal-to-the-federal-government-and-states-to-further-dev/
Kerres, M. (2020). Against all odds: Education in Germany coping with Covid-19. Postdigital Science and Education, 2, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00130-7
Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK – Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs) (2017). Bildung in der digitalen Welt - Strategie der Kultusministerkonferenz (Education in the digital world – strategy of the KMK) https://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/pdf/PresseUndAktuelles/2018/Digitalstrategie_2017_mit_Weiterbildung.pdf
Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK – Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs) (2019). Empfehlungen zur Digitalisierung in der Hochschullehre (Recommendations on the digitalization of academic teaching). https://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2019/2019_03_14-Digitalisierung-Hochschullehre.pdf.
Levine, E. J. (2021). Allies and rivals: German American exchange and the rise of the modern research university. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press.
Lübcke, M., Bosse, E., Book, A., Wannemacher, K., & Gilch, H. (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the digitalization and strategic development of German universities. https://www.eunis.org/download/2022/EUNIS_2022_paper_8.pdf
Ruschmeier, R., Gilch, H., Lessig, M., Friedrich Stratmann, F., & Wannemacher, K. (2020). Herausforderungen bei der Umsetzung des Onlinezugangsgesetzes im Kontext der Digitalen Hochschulbildung (Challenges implementing the Online Access Statute in the context of digital HE). https://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/de/news/studie-onlinezugangsgesetz-hchschulen-arbeitspapier
Slowey, M., & Schuetze, H. G. (2023). Widening access to higher education: Changing demographics. Overcoming old barriers and the role of lifelong learning. In G. Parry, M. Osborne, and P. Scott (Eds.), Access, lifelong learning and education for all. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-12342-9_5
Trow, M. (1973). Problems in the transition from elite to mass higher education. Berkely, CA.: Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.
University Duisburg-Essen (2017). Strategy for digitisation in teaching and learning. https://www.uni-due.de/imperia/md/images/e-learning/strategie/e-learning-strategiepapier_englisch_neu.pdf
Wissenschaftsrat (Science and Humanities Council) (2022). Empfehlungen zur Digitalisierung von Studium und Lehre (Recommendations for the digitalization of learning and teaching). https://doi.org/10.57674/sg3e-wm53
Zawacki-Richter, O. (2020). The current state and impact of Covid‐19 on digital higher education in Germany. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.238
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.
