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The aim is to make higher education digital solutions compatible in different countries – while learning good practices from European sister projects. The closest equivalent to Digivisio can be found in the Netherlands.
The Digivisio 2030 project has for many years been intensifying its contacts with European organizations that promote the digitalization of higher education. Joining forces is necessary to ensure that digital solutions in the higher education institutions of different countries are sufficiently compatible.
If, for example, the European Universities network offers joint studies, it should be possible to present them to learners in all countries in the same way. Interoperable digital solutions would also make it possible to provide information in Finland on courses completed by learners in another European country.
“Study attainments would be transferred as automatedly as possible to the Finnish higher education institution where the learner is registered,” explains Sakari Heikkilä, Digivisio Programme Manager.
Digivisio now wants to build these solutions with its European partners. Another incentive to join forces is that international sibling projects may also offer handy tips that can be applied in Finland.
“How they are organized, how they are funded and how they gather, for example, the views that higher education institutions have concerning the challenges of digitalization and how they are tackled,” lists Heikkilä.
The project most similar to Digivisio is found in the Netherlands
During the first few years, the focus of international cooperation was on networking and identifying similar projects. According to Heikkilä, Europe has several projects like Digivisio, but none of them are identical.
The most similar is Dutch Npuls, which builds digital services for higher education institutions and upper secondary education institutions. Npuls is run by SURF, which is an organization similar to CSC. The Digivisio team visited the Netherlands already in the early stages of the project, and in the spring of 2024 the Dutch counterpart visited Finland.
“We workshopped on different themes in Keilaniemi for two full days,” says Heikkilä.
The discussions revolved around artificial intelligence, project management, service design, and, of course, interoperability, around which a Teams group of Dutch and Finnish experts was formed following the visit. The topic is now a timely one due to the European Universities networks. According to Heikkilä, creating different operating methods for each network should be avoided.
“The ideal situation would be for Europe to make extensive use of the same digital standards in, for example, the transfer of learner data.
Roundtable discussions create a situational picture
International contacts are also gained through organizations contacting Digivisio’s Programme Office from abroad. There will be invitations to conferences and seminars, and the aim is to present the Finnish programme abroad in the autumn. Digivisio is a unique programme in Europe – indeed, all the higher education institutions of the country are involved in it.
“Yes, we have attracted interest.”
For example, in May, Digivisio personnel took part in roundtable discussions held by the British Jisc organization. According to Heikkilä, there was interest in, for example, what kind of changes in thinking and cooperation would be required to bring about a transformation such as Digivisio. Similar events have also been organised by German organization Stifterverband, which promotes science and education.
“The discussions create a shared situational picture and networks, through which joint projects can be launched later,” says Heikkilä.
Less manual work and cost savings
According to Heikkilä, the next objective of Digivisio is to map out opportunities for a joint development project with European partners and apply for project funding. For example, a digital solution that supports interoperability could be developed in the project. Proposals for cooperation with Digivisio have already been received.
“The requirements for setting up a concrete project are currently being explored,” Heikkilä explains.
Joint European digital solutions would reduce the need for manual work in Finnish higher education institutions as, for example, data transfer would be automated. There would also be cost savings if every higher education network did not have to develop the solutions themselves from the ground up. Learners would have access to seamless services, such as being able to transfer grades from one country to another and easily finding course offerings online.
“There are plenty of opportunities for development in the international field,” sums up Heikkilä.