Higher Education in the Digital Era: Pedagogical Implications and Challenges

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern digital technologies are transforming Higher Education and rapidly reshaping how knowledge is produced, transmitted, and assessed. The expansion of online learning, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence has created new opportunities for teaching and learning while also presenting significant pedagogical, ethical, institutional, and social challenges.

This Topic, titled “Higher Education in the Digital Era: Pedagogical Implications and Challenges”, invites original scholarly contributions that critically examine how digital transformation is influencing Higher Education and what these developments mean for pedagogy, educators, students, and societies. Contributions may draw on empirical research, theoretical perspectives, comparative studies, systematic reviews, or critical analyses.

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Pedagogical approaches to online and hybrid learning;
• Digital transformation and the changing landscape of Higher Education;
• Artificial intelligence and generative AI in teaching and learning;
• The opportunities and challenges of AI-assisted assessment and feedback;
• Digital literacy and AI literacy among students and educators;
• Faculty roles, professional development, and academic work in the digital era;
• Student engagement, motivation, participation, and learning outcomes in digital environments;
• Technology-enhanced teaching and innovative pedagogical practices;
• Virtual, Augmented, and Extended Reality in Higher Education;
• AI, academic integrity, and new approaches to assessment;
• Issues of accessibility and inclusion in digital learning;
• Student well-being, digital fatigue, and the challenges of technology-mediated learning;
• Digital platforms, educational technologies, and changing institutional practices;
• Ethical and privacy issues in digitally mediated Higher Education;
• Internationalization and digital Higher Education;
• Digital education in different cultural and institutional contexts;
• The changing role of Higher Education in an increasingly digital society;
• Future directions and sustainable models for digital Higher Education.

Submissions that offer critical, theoretically grounded, and evidence-based perspectives on the pedagogical implications of digital transformation are particularly welcome. 

Prof. Dr. Irina Golubeva
Dr. Anita Komlodi
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
AI in Education aieduc	-	-	2025	15.0 days *	CHF 1000	Submit
Education Sciences education	3.5	6.2	2011	24.8 Days	CHF 2000	Submit
Social Sciences socsci	2.0	3.5	2012	30.3 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Sustainability sustainability	4.1	8.9	2009	16.9 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Trends in Higher Education higheredu	2.1	3.4	2022	31.7 Days	CHF 1200	Submit

* Median value for all MDPI journals in the first half of 2026.

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