Speaker
Description
Chukwuka, K. S.
Dr B U Nzeribe State Polytechnic, Awo Omamma, Imo State, Nigeria
kanayodrchukwuka97@gmail.com
Track: Digital Transformation in Higher Education
African tertiary educational institutions are indeed facing an existential threat to either evolve from traditional knowledge sharing and become engines of innovation and sustainable development or be overtaken by ongoing digital transformation and technology integration. Therefore, this research explores the pace, opportunities, enablers, and challenges of digital transformation and technology integration in Nigerian public universities as practical cases for the African context. While adopting the twin theoretical frameworks of the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) and the Diffusion of Innovation which are together explaining how technology capabilities, institutional readiness and external factors influence use and integration of digital tools in education and governance, the study uses a qualitative research method to examine the extent of this digital transformation and technology integration in the country's public universities. The findings of this research, in fact, reveal that Nigeria has made significant progress through several interventions by the National Universities Commission (NUC), Tertiary Educational Trust Fund (TETFund) and through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model despite persistent challenges. As part of its recommendations, this research has advocated that African universities should be intentional while adopting digital transformation and technology integration in pedagogy, research commercialization, and institutional governance. Thus, the whole essence of this paper is to contribute to the conference's theme by presenting how Nigerian public universities can better leverage digital tools, enhance technology innovation, and extend their quality access to all in order to align with the SDGs and Africa's knowledge-based economic vision of the African Union's Agenda 2063.