Digital university as an integrative methodological construct

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has actualized the digital transition of universities. At the same time, it introduced an element of chaos. Educational policy also played a role here. At this stage, there is a contradiction that has arisen between the fragmentation of interpretations and the need to develop a digital university model. This determines the need for structuring the methodological construct of a digital university, which will allow developing not only a theoretical methodology that allows more focused theoretical and applied research, but also a practical methodology that makes it possible to more rationally structure a set of techniques and tools to achieve the goal of practical implementation of the digital transformation of universities and higher education. The author of the article formulated the methodological construct of a digital university as an integrative phenomenon. A digital university is a combination of four interdependent elements: a teaching format; digital environment; digital resources; digital platform. The digital format is a form of combining digital technologies (in what form the interaction takes place) and at the same time content (which is an act of interaction, the content itself). The digital environment is a space, a place (where interaction takes place). Digital resources are tools for activating the idea of a digital university (what the participants use). A digital platform is an algorithm, a way to implement the idea of a digital university (how interaction is embodied) and, at the same time, a platform for interaction (within which structure the interaction takes place). The article shows that a digital university cannot be interpreted solely as a twin of a "physical" university, since digital technologies allow creating new conditions, making changes in the real environment, organizing processes, both teaching and management. At the same time, the "physical" university, existing in the real, not the virtual world, is a whole space in which technical and human resources are placed. In other words, it is impossible to talk about the concept of a digital university only from the standpoint of the digital (virtual) world, or from the standpoint of only the technical infrastructure.