Collaboration in Higher Education for Digital Transformation in European Business CHEDTEB Erasmus Project

Project Title

Collaboration in Higher Education for Digital Transformation in European Business
CHEDTEB

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Context
Digitalization forces businesses to transform but many lack understanding of how to redesign processes. Future staff need new combinations of skills to ensure a smooth transition towards the digital age.
Universities’ role in this:
– changing teaching to provide students with the needed skill sets
– assuming knowledge leadership to be drivers of digital change within local communities and corporate networks
– transforming their own functioning
As it is not clear under Digitalization, which competencies graduates need in the future and how they are acquired, business and universities need to work together sharing resources and experience, bringing together experts and setting up frameworks of co-operation.
CHEDTEB addressed the digital challenge by
a. providing education
b. driving progress and innovation in local (business) communities
c. proposing reform of university organisations

Objectives
• Promote digital transformation and support the competitiveness in regional areas
• Enable universities and local communities to bundle resources, skills and ideas for digital transformation in order to
– stimulate a common transnational learning process between companies and universities
– set up an interdisciplinary Joint Degree in ‘Digital Transformation’
– develop new tools, case studies and teaching models in university-business collaboration
– inspire international students by trialing innovative curriculum ideas
– blueprint a transnational pilot project in higher education as a model for the universities involved

Participants/Target Groups
University staff: Partners’ research, teaching, admin staff, other HEIs involved, in total c500
Local companies, networks: SMEs, consulting, trade groups, associations, in total c200
University students: Business and Tech students, in total c220

Program’s attractiveness
– Partners from one high-income and two low-income countries (limited exposure to international education and international business)
– Intrinsic value to students, administrators and teaching staff from partner universities.
– Learning, working and ‘growing’ with peers from international partner institutions
– Affordable and accessible conditions
– Access for skills and services to global markets, innovation and digital value chains
– Carving out individual opportunities (‘hidden’ project agenda)
– Corporate partners from emerging economies interacting with peers from developed areas

Participation eased by
– low travel costs and virtual mobility
– mixing peer groups from partner institutions and local corporate networks
– encouraging personal exchange
– cross-cultural communication training
– warm-up periods, social / cultural activities at workshops and multiplier events

Offers to target groups
– Corporate, NGO and public institutions: working groups, conferences, social media, surveys, interviews, webinars
– Researchers and teachers: involvement in workflow, output, communication, dissemination and training, surveys, interviews, webinars
– Admin staff of universities: specific working groups and phases, specific training courses, multiplier events, other dissemination and communication efforts, webinars, surveys
– Students: specific workshops, idea lab, pitches, conferences, working groups, social media campaigns, surveys, webinars, training courses.

Activities
– Intellectual outputs: research, modelling, sharing, drafting, campaigning, publicizing, advocating
– Courses: training, brainstorming, activating, pitching, debating, modelling, validating, organizing, campaigning
– Multiplier events: presenting, sharing, transferring, debating, disseminating, validating, organizing, campaigning

Results, impact
– Laid foundations for future innovative joint degree on digital transformation
– Elaborated instruments designed to help businesses and universities address digital challenges
– Research papers, tools and products meant for wider use by agents of digital change in companies and universities
– Designed joint degree (curriculum, principles, model of multi-university co-operation in teaching and learning)
– Increased awareness of Digitalization with students, admin professionals and teaching staff
– Tested learning content and project outputs
– Supplied proposals for tackling digitization of universities with focus on internationalization

Results were organized in 5 intellectual outputs:
1. Guide to implementing Blockchain and Smart Contract Technologies
2. Impact assessment of Big Data analysis & application cases
3. Toolbox for digital transformation management & curricular impact for higher education
4. Curriculum of a Master’s degree in Digital Transformation of Corporate Business
5. White paper on digital transformation of universities’ internationalization

Longer-term benefits
Outputs form a virtual centre of digital transformation. Partners’ and companies’ staff are now better qualified to act as innovation agents, educators / tool providers and implementers.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 277967 Eur

Project Coordinator

FACHHOCHSCHULE BIELEFELD & Country: DE

Project Partners

• TARTU ULIKOOL
• VYSOKE UCENI TECHNICKE V BRNE