The paper investigates the theoretical foundations of designing an open university ecosystem for protection against information security threats that meet the requirements of the modern digital society. The authors provide an overview of international and Ukrainian legal acts related to the digital transformation of higher education, which is not limited to and not determined by the introduction of digital technologies into the activities of the university, it involves much deeper changes, namely the formation of a new model of university functioning and activity. The paper discusses international and Ukrainian experiences in designing an open university ecosystem, methodologies, and measures to increase protection against cyber threats and to ensure the safe operation of higher education infrastructure, which is especially relevant in the context of martial law in Ukraine. The key benefits of digital transformation, such as creating opportunities for cooperation, expanding service delivery, and changing approaches to work, individual and group educational needs, are highlighted, which requires the creation of a university ecosystem based on the ideological and methodological principles of openness and continuity of the learning process. The analysis of the ideas of digital transformation and the design of the university ecosystem is based on the research of leading scientists in the world and Ukraine. The authors offer a list of functioning ecosystems that are directly or indirectly related to university education, their features, and strengths are indicated, and the common factors to be taken into account in the process of an educational ecosystem design are defined. Cybersecurity has been identified as one of the important issues to consider in the design of an open university ecosystem The main areas to ensure the reliability and security of the ecosystem include data security and privacy, access control and authentication, and network and infrastructure protection. The digital campus of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University is described as the current stage of the university's digital transformation and is the basis for designing an open university ecosystem. It includes such main categories as digital education, digital science, digital control, image and leadership, digital space, and infrastructure. The paper also presents the prerequisites for creating an ecosystem of the Grinchenko University in the context of digital transformation as a preparatory stage for the implementation of the study on the design of an open university ecosystem, which was launched by the Digitization of Education Research Lab of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University. Based on the analysis and considering the requirements and needs of today, an indicative model of the open university ecosystem is presented.
The rapid development of technologies prompts the digital transformation of all spheres of society’s life, which provides an opportunity for the development of education and at the same time creates challenges for universities. The process of digital transformation in the world has been accelerated by the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. Organizations and educational institutions were forced to work in remote mode, not only employees needed to master new digital technologies and tools, but also all citizens—consumers of social services. Digital transformation is not limited to and not determined by the introduction of digital technologies into the activities of the university, it involves much deeper changes, namely the formation of a new model of functioning and activity of the university—an open university, a “university without walls”, which will be the
0000-0002-3611-2114 (O. Buinytska); 0000-0001-9965-6373 (V. Smirnova); 0000-0002-8046-423X (T. Terletska); 0000-0003-0723-4195 (L. Varchenko-Trotsenko); 0000-0003-2953-8560 (B. Hrytseliak) © 2024 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). key to success in the next ten years, about which is stated in the Concept of the European Association of Universities “Universities without Walls: A Vision for 2030” [1]. Only with a complete change in the organizational structure of the university, one can realize such benefits of digital transformation as the creation of opportunities for cooperation, the expansion of service delivery, and changes in approaches to work, individual and group educational needs, which require the creation of a university ecosystem based on the worldview and methodological principles of openness and continuity of the process of cognition. The ecosystem itself will ensure the development of a holistic university to achieve its competitiveness, openness, transformation, and transnationality, strategic goals of the university’s sustainable development, which is formed as a result of the synergy of education, science, innovation, academic, and business community. However, along with the numerous benefits provided by digital transformation, new challenges arise, among which a special place is occupied by ensuring protection against information security threats, and disruptions in the functioning of the university’s digital infrastructure to ensure the continuity of the educational process, increasing the level of security of information resources, protecting confidential data, etc. [2].
To be able to design an open university ecosystem, it is
important to study the previous experience of designing
educational ecosystems and increasing their security, as
well as the legislative framework for this. At the same time,
a solution must be planned taking into account the existing
infrastructure and available resources of the higher
education institution (HEI). Thus, it is necessary to study
the prerequisites of the open university ecosystem and
modern approaches to ensure its protection. In the context
of modern military aggression, which covers not only
physical but also cyberspace, higher education institutions
(HEIs) are becoming attractive targets for cyberattacks that
can lead to the leakage of confidential information, personal
data, disruption of the educational process, impact on
research results and the overall reputation of the
educational institution. The digital transformation of
education creates additional challenges, including
cybersecurity issues in the open university ecosystem,
which must be taken into account in the design process [
Problem statement. Modern society requires a profound change in approaches to work, service delivery, problem-solving, and management in various fields. Higher education is no exception and must adapt to the conditions, respond to the challenges of today, and develop to be competitive and effective in the context of digital transformation, which is not limited to the use of digital tools, but requires the development of a new model of functioning to ensure lifelong learning, the introduction of innovative technologies and teaching methods, cooperation with business, government and public structures for highquality education and research. Designing an open university ecosystem that has a high level of protection against information security threats is an urgent problem and research area.
The purpose of the study. The purpose of the paper is to study the best international, European, and national practices of designing educational and university ecosystems in the context of the digital transformation of society and to ensure their protection. The main tasks are to study the legislative framework for digital transformation, analyze Ukrainian and international experience in various ecosystems related to educational activities and universities in particular, determine the prerequisites for designing an open university ecosystem at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University in the context of digital transformation, identify key guidelines for the security of the open university ecosystem, and design a model of such an ecosystem.
To achieve the goal of the research several theoretical methods were used: the analysis of the current state of the problem research in scientific publications; the analysis of normative and legislative acts on digital transformation of higher education at national and international levels; generalization of experience in designing open university ecosystems; comparative analysis method; determination of the prerequisites for Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University ecosystem design under the conditions of digital transformation. The research was carried out according to the tasks of the scientific topic “Designing an open university ecosystem in the context of digital transformation of society” (No. 0123U102794), which is being implemented by the Digitization of education research laboratory of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University.
The paper presents the research carried out at the first and partially second stages of the implementation of the research topic of the Digitization of Education Research Lab of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, which includes some tasks, including studying the process of digital transformation based on the world’s leading higher education institutions, determining the peculiarities of digital transformation in the management, educational and scientific spheres of higher education institutions, analyzing international experience in designing open university ecosystems; substantiating the prerequisites for the project. The study summarizes the regulatory and legal documents related to the digital transformation of higher education, the experience of ecosystems, and the prerequisites of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, which serve as the basis for designing an open university ecosystem.
The study analyzed the use of terminology related to open educational ecosystems and digital transformation in European long-term documents, Ukrainian legislative documents, draft documents submitted for public discussion, articles by leading scholars who study university development, ecosystem building, and digital transformation, etc. (Fig. 1). The key issues of digital transformation of university education are reflected in key long-term international documents, including those of the European Commission, the United Nations, the European Association of Universities, and the International Association of Universities.
The main strategic priorities of the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027), an updated policy initiative of the European Union (EU), are to promote the development of a high-performance digital education ecosystem. For the implementation of strategic priorities, some measures have been identified, which include the development of a Plan for the digital transformation of higher education institutions, the creation of a European platform for the exchange of higher education content and educational data to support in-depth transnational cooperation between higher education institutions and facilitate the exchange of content and educational data, the development of network infrastructure, the implementation of innovative technologies, development of digital competence of teachers and lecturers, inclusion of artificial intelligence and data-related skills in the European Framework of Digital Competences. The Plan emphasizes the importance of improving ICT skills in areas such as cyber security, big data, quantum technology, and machine learning, as well as improving digital skills for businesses such as web design, digital marketing software development, etc. [5].
Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [6], one of the key documents of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which considers digital technologies as a means of implementing open access to education, global cooperation, and knowledge sharing. Open education is part of an open and socially inclusive world, which means that openness must be visualized as one of the merits of higher education as well and an open university ecosystem can be seen as a way to introduce and fulfil open higher education. In the context of open education, urgent issues include ensuring compliance with international and national standards of cybersecurity in education, ensuring the security and reliability of distance learning platforms, implementing reliable authentication systems to prevent unauthorized access, preserving and protecting educational materials and research results in open access, protecting confidential research data, fostering a culture of cybersecurity among students, faculty, and staff, ensuring the security of data and processes when using cloud technologies [7, 8].
The concept of the European Association of Universities “Universities without Walls: A Vision for 2030” defines the vision of sustainable and efficient universities that serve
European societies in a better future. The digital transformation of universities is recognized as an important trend but does not replace a physical presence on campus. As the process of digitization expands, advanced digital technologies must be integrated into university education, the model of which will undergo significant changes for openness and accessibility. However, physical presence on campus should remain a core feature of most educational institutions [1].
The main strategic priority of the International
Association of Universities is the digital transformation of
higher education. The IAU Strategy (2022–2030) declares
that digital transformation affects all aspects of higher
education institutions, from governance to teaching and
research. It opens up new opportunities but also presents
new challenges. HEIs must respond to, interact with, and
shape this process to stay current, and modern and
correspond to the needs of the society where digital
technologies play a crucial role [
The strategy for the development of higher education in
Ukraine for 2022–2032 is aimed at achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals, including the spheres of education and
professional training, and is coordinated with other
program documents that are conducive to a high standard
of living and human progress. The Strategy identifies key
priorities for the higher education system at the present
stage of social and economic development together with the
main characteristics that should be formed by 2032. The
Strategy emphasizes that the lack of practice and experience
in implementing digital technologies is one of the problems
that need to be addressed. Therefore, the digital
transformation of educational institutions is an important
direction of the development of higher education in
Ukraine, which involves the utilization of digital
technologies to improve management and monitoring in
higher education institutions and the quality of the
educational process. The main tasks to achieve the strategic
and operational goals of this Strategy are the development
of innovation infrastructure based on higher education
institutions, promotion of their integration into regional
innovation ecosystems and Industry 4.0 clusters, taking into
account the SMART specialization of the regions; digital
transformation of management, regulation and monitoring
processes in higher education institutions and the effective
use of digital (distance) technologies in the educational
process; development of standardized digital tools for
measuring learning outcomes and verifying academic
integrity; introduction of IT equipment as part of the digital
infrastructure in the updated teaching and research
laboratories of higher education institutions; formation of a
fault-tolerant IT infrastructure; encouragement of the use of
innovative technologies and teaching and learning tools in
the educational process, development of research
infrastructure; modernization of networks, secure access
and data exchange; search for ways to digitally transform
the access of foreign citizens to higher education in
Ukrainian universities [
Ukraine’s Recovery Plan (Education and Science)
regulates the key measures for the post-war recovery of the
sphere of Ukrainian education. The primary objectives of
the Plan encompass several key areas: fostering the creation
of personalized educational paths for students,
incorporating interdisciplinary educational initiatives,
securing acknowledgment from universities for non-formal
and informal learning, promoting student-centered learning
principles as the cornerstone of educational structuring, and
integrating innovative technologies and diverse educational
modalities. Additionally, the Plan outlines the integration of
digital solutions to reinforce measures for identifying
breaches of academic integrity, notably through the
development of a standardized digital tool for monitoring
academic integrity. The Plan also outlines the need for the
digital transformation of management, regulation, and
monitoring processes in higher education institutions, the
effective use of digital (distance) technologies in the
educational process, the creation of a universal
methodology for evaluating scientific activity based on
world experience in the balance between quantitative and
qualitative indicators, the introduction of digital evaluation
tools, development a unified information system that will
ensure the reliability and relevance of data for analysis and
decision making in the field of science [
The plan for the implementation of open science in
Ukraine provides for measures to ensure open access to
scientific results and scientific and technical information;
guarantee open access to research infrastructure and
promote a favorable environment for the effective use of
scientific and technical information and publicly available
research infrastructure resources; protect open scientific
platforms and data repositories from unauthorized access;
ensure security in the exchange of data between different
scientific institutions and industries; popularization of
science, dissemination of scientific knowledge and
involvement of citizens in scientific and technical activities;
improvement of the system of quality assessment of
scientific and technical activities; raising awareness and
building competence in open science. The strategy for
advancing open science in Ukraine advocates for the
adoption of proper management practices for scientific data
(FAIR principles) and the utilization of optimized scientific
data (FAIR data). This includes their integration into the
research process. Moreover, it entails the establishment of a
national scientific information system for open access
monitoring, facilitation of data exchange with EU nations,
particularly through integration into European data spaces,
and the establishment of a unified database documenting
scientific and technical accomplishments. Additionally, it
aims to refine the criteria for state certification of higher
education and scientific institutions, as well as to develop
guidelines for these institutions on enhancing institutional
policies for evaluating scientific and academic staff, guided
by the principles outlined in the San Francisco Declaration
on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Open Science
Career Assessment Matrix (OS-CAM) [
The draft document “Concept of digital transformation of education and science”, which is under public discussion, created to bring it into line with the global trends of digital development, highlights the need for the successful realization of each person’s potential, including the selfrealization of those who choose professions that require acquiring a high level of digital competences and mastering the latest technologies.
In the project of the Ministry of Digital Transformation
of Ukraine “Strategy for the Development of the Innovation
Ecosystem in Ukraine”, where the following innovation
areas are prioritized: defense tech, artificial intelligence,
FinTech, Green Tech, AgriTech, Cybersecurity, Industry
4.0; the insufficiently developed lifelong education system
and weak STEM education, which do not allow the
development of innovative entrepreneurship in Ukraine, the
low realization of the development potential of the IT
sphere due to systemic problems in IT education at every
stage of specialist training are noted [
The studied documents allow the authors to assert that
the digital transformation of university education may
result in the construction of an open university ecosystem
characterized by a high level of security, compliance with
advanced cybersecurity standards, and ensuring reliable
protection, integrity, and accessibility of educational
resources and data in conditions of increased openness and
interaction. The design of an open university ecosystem
correlates with the priorities of digital transformation of
universities in the documents analyzed above [
The development of university infrastructure, integration of digital technologies into the educational process, digital transformation of management, regulation and monitoring processes, development of digital competence of teachers and lecturers, ensuring high quality and security standards, open access, dissemination of research results, improvement of institutional policies for the evaluation of research and teaching staff are identified as key strategic priorities of the digital transformation of HEIs in the regulatory documents of the European and national levels. The implementation of the priorities set out in the regulatory documents at the European and national levels plays a significant role in improving the quality of education, increasing the competitiveness of universities, and preparing students who will be successful in the modern digital world. At the same time, these priorities contribute to expanding access to education, ensuring the continuity of the educational process, introducing innovative methods and approaches to teaching, actively involving students in the learning process, expanding research opportunities, and creating a safe and open educational environment conducive to innovation, knowledge sharing, and cooperation. Therefore, we see them as a guideline in designing an open university ecosystem.
Digital transformation has become one of the key
aspects of discussions on the development of education in
recent years. Scientists are investigating various aspects of
the digital transformation of society and education, in
particular, its impact on various spheres of university
activity. Among the main tasks of the digital transformation
of education, Bykov V., Spirin O., and Pinchuk O. highlight,
particularly the formation of a coherent national policy for
the digital transformation of education, improving the
digital competence of participants in the educational
process, conducting research in the field of digitalization of
education, etc. [
Cerda Suarez L. M., Nunez-Valdes K., Quiros and
Alpera S. [
The principles of open education are described in
the paper by Kyrychenko M., Prosina O., Shven Y., and
Kravchynska T. [
Abad-Segura E., Gonz´alez-Zamar M-D., Infante-Moro
J.C., Ruip´erez Garc´ıa G. explore the main trends related to
the sustainable management of digital transformation,
which include Big Data, artificial intelligence, robotics, the
use of flipped classroom technologies, digital cooperative
learning (DCL), gamification, augmented, virtual or mixed
reality, which contributes to increasing the motivation and
involvement of students in the educational process,
stimulates practical and creative activity, using new didactic
models for learning and teaching based on individual
learning, personalization of content and development of
own skills through social learning [
Ab Jalil H., Ismail I.A., Ma’rof A.M., Lim C.L., Hassan N.,
Che Nawi N.R. [
Piazza A., Vasudevan S., and Carr M. examine the
cybersecurity ecosystem in higher education, finding very
low levels of collaboration and significant opportunities for
improving cyber threat information sharing [
Kepuska K. and Tomasevic M. [
The design of an innovative and entrepreneurial
educational ecosystem of a higher education institution,
which takes into account the principle of environmental
friendliness and low power consumption of hardware and
software, is analyzed by Dan Sheng, Yulong Wang [
Cwik S. and Singh C. [
The analysis of scientific papers and research on the digital transformation of education, ecosystem design, open university, and approaches to improving the security of educational ecosystems provides a valuable basis for designing a secure, fault-tolerant, flexible open university ecosystem in the context of the digital transformation of society.
The main areas of cybersecurity in the open university ecosystem are focused on such key aspects as protecting the confidentiality of information, ensuring the integrity of the network and infrastructure, protecting personal data, and raising users’ awareness of cybersecurity. Integrating cybersecurity principles into the open university ecosystem requires a comprehensive approach that covers all aspects of information security, from data protection to managing risks associated with interactions with external partners. An important aspect is the protection of confidential information stored at the university, in particular, students' personal data and academic records, which includes data encryption, compliance with privacy rules, data backup and recovery, and data loss prevention. Access control ensures that only authorized individuals have access to university systems and data using multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, single sign-on solutions, and privileged access management. Network and infrastructure security is ensured using firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and secure configuration of network devices, including protection against DDoS attacks and security of computers and mobile devices. A key element of ensuring cybersecurity is raising user awareness through training programs and policies for handling confidential information, which contributes to a culture of awareness of cyber threats.
In addition, the experience of creating various ecosystems was studied, but those related to university education and the digital transformation of education and society were highlighted: innovation, business, university, ICT entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, digital solutions for education, open science, education, digital education, etc.
The results of the analysis of functioning ecosystems and the features of some of them are shown in Table 1.
Features of the ecosystem Experimental project on the creation based on institutions of higher education, scientific institutions of the Startup-school incubator accelerator network.
Selection, attraction, and training of creative people to create their businesses and startups. Consists of Startup School “Sikorsky Challenge”; Business incubator “Sikorsky Challenge”; Innovative technological environment “Sikorsky Lab”; Center for Intellectual Property; Venture Fund “Sikorsky Challenge”.
Analysis of the current status of ICT entrepreneurial ecosystem performance. Diagnosis of the performance of the different ecosystem stakeholders: educators, investors, connectors, and facilitators by evaluating 19 indicators. Recommendations for further developing the ICT entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Modern services and tools; Digital Skills and competencies; electronic educational environment of the educational institution; digital transformation of the lesson.
Open source; data/research reproducibility, research data management; open access to publications.
Characteristics of the educational ecosystem of the future: - Dependence on information and communication technologies. The analysis has shown that there is no unified scheme or algorithm for an educational ecosystem design. The ecosystems described above have different structures, various features, and a wide spectrum of services and activities. However, there are common factors taken into account in the process of an educational and innovative ecosystem design. Among them, there are the goals of the organization, the needs of all stakeholders, defined target groups, technical, financial, and human resources that can be involved, the size of the ecosystem, etc. - Use of smart learning spaces. - Implementation of innovative pedagogical approaches. - Use of the latest developments, solutions, and
technologies that will prepare students for real life. - Searches for new approaches to solving complex
problems.
Register of repositories of institutions of higher education and scientific institutions of Ukraine; Digital archives. Digitally enhanced learning and teaching.
Implementing open access as the default practice for communicating research results.
Formation of a coherent high-quality and sustainable institutional ecosystem of open access.
Key trends for librarians to support researchers: - Preprints and open science. - Cooperation in research. - Artificial intelligence technologies. - Changes in the financing system.
- Maintaining a work-life balance.
An educational ecosystem for informing society about quantum technologies.
Structure: - Education - Natural sciences - Social and Human Sciences - Culture - Communication and Information - Ocean - Priority Africa - Priority Gender Equality.
Ensuring the sustainability of the Diamond Open Access scholarly communication ecosystem
According to the results of the study “Digital learning
ecosystem at educational institutions: A content analysis of
scholarly discourse” [
The maturity assessment methodology presented in the
Final report of the project “Guide for building the ICT
entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Eastern partner
countries: Maturity analysis and recommendations” [
Digital transformation is affecting all areas of university life: teaching, research, and management, creating new opportunities, but at the same time posing complex challenges that require flexibility, innovation, and openness to change. Universities are facing the need to transform to meet the requirements of the digital era and remain competitive in the global market of educational services. Society wants an open, accessible, flexible, and efficient educational environment aimed at developing the competencies necessary for success in the 21st century and supported by a reliable, powerful IT infrastructure. At the same time, universities play an important role in the digital transformation of society, as they are actively working to provide affordable education, train highly qualified specialists, introduce and develop innovations, and promote lifelong learning. University science contributes to the development of advanced technologies, which, in turn, accelerates the digital transformation of the economy and society towards Economy 4.0 (Fig. 3). Digital transformation involves the formation of a new model of functioning and activities of the university—an open university, a “university without walls”, which will be the key to success in the next ten years. Realizing the full potential of digital transformation at a university often requires profound changes in the organizational structure, which allows for a more flexible and efficient system, and promotes collaboration, service expansion, and innovation. A prerequisite for meeting the diverse educational needs of modern society is the creation of an open university ecosystem based on the principles of openness and continuous learning.
According to the analysis, the process of forming an open university ecosystem in the context of digital transformation involves the formation of a new model of university functioning and activities and a change in the worldview of participants in the educational process. The nature and structure of universities should be hybrid. They should have open, both physical and virtual campuses that will work to interact with society, which will require an integrated system of physical and digital educational, scientific, and management environments to address the demands of the university community and offer versatile and blended methodologies. The traditional campus will remain essential as a hub for social engagement, concentrated learning, and research endeavors. Simultaneously, the virtual campus will extend the university’s reach, making it accessible and fostering collaboration, while also pioneering inventive methods to advance the university’s mission in research and education.
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University has
thorough studies, which include a formed information and
educational environment, a Digital Campus, a System for
the development of digital competence of teachers, a system
of ratings, etc. The information and educational
environment introduced at the university is a convergence
of digital, informational, and educational environments that
provide participants in the educational process with free
access to digital tools, and informational and educational
resources and ensure effective communication and
collaboration within the environment. The open
information and educational environment of the university
includes [
scientific, and management activities, taking into account the standards.
Personal digital environment of teachers.
Personal digital environment of students.
Communication and collaboration support systems.
To secure the open educational environment of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, the University’s Cybersecurity Strategy was approved, with the priority areas being improving network protection, data security, and confidentiality, modernizing the remote desktop service for remote work, and creating a single service for managing educational and work processes.
To protect access to the university’s open educational environment, a two-stage verification of corporate email accounts was introduced. To ensure secure external access to the university’s internal network, we organized the use of a VPN, which provides a secure communication channel and reduces the risk of unauthorized access. Server OSes are updated to versions that support the latest security updates. Each site is equipped with a security certificate (SSL/TLS) that encrypts all transmitted data and protects the confidentiality of user information by creating an encrypted communication channel. The university uses both licensed and free software, choosing the best solutions for educational and scientific tasks. The training and content management systems are regularly updated to the latest versions to ensure their stable operation and compliance with modern requirements. Regular software updates are an integral part of a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity, as they allow us to quickly address identified vulnerabilities that can be used by cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access and compromise data confidentiality. To ensure the security and integrity of information, data is backed up, which ensures reliable data storage and quick access to it in the event of failures or loss of local data, reduces the risk of losing important information, and increases the level of security and data availability for users. Comprehensive protection of workstations and servers is provided by modern anti-virus software, which is constantly updated and includes modules for detecting and neutralizing various types of malware, which creates proactive protection against known and new threats.
An important component of the information and educational environment of Grinchenko University is the electronic learning system, which is constantly being developed and updated following the needs of participants in the educational process. For convenience, the personal digital environment of the teacher and the student, respectively, is organized, which contains all the necessary resources for organizing the educational process, including distance learning, a module for implementing the selective component of the educational program, and an additional block with useful digital tools. The student digital environment contains the study plan, the trajectory of personal development of competencies, the rating of success in each academic discipline and in general, the deadlines for the completion of tasks and their evaluation by the teacher, checking qualification papers for plagiarism, maintain academic integrity in the created university database of qualification papers with the integration of an antiplagiarism service that checks for plagiarism on the Internet; built-in electronic communication tools among all participants of the educational process. In their digital environment, a student has the opportunity to get acquainted with the activities and ratings of teachers. The teacher’s digital environment includes the possibilities of creating and developing electronic educational courses, describing and creating educational disciplines of the student’s choice, working programs of educational disciplines, forming performance information, and drawing up and implementing an individual teacher’s plan.
Electronic communication between the participants of
the educational process is provided by corporate mail on
Gmail and related Google services with two-step
verification, which creates a reliable secure space for the
exchange of educational materials and communication,
significantly increases the level of protection against
unauthorized access to accounts and prevents the disclosure
of confidential information. To implement the program of
openness developed an “E-portfolio”, “Activity register
database”, “Institutional repository”, a functioning Wiki,
etc. [
To display a complete picture of the activity of a teacher at Grinchenko University, the “E-portfolio” system has been developed, which allows not only to creation of an eportfolio of a teacher but also for building rating tables of indicators for evaluating the main types of activities of each teacher and all departments to objectively analyze the quality of personnel ensuring professional activity and quality of higher education (Fig. 4). A unified database of employees’ professional performance indicators was created with the possibility of forming ratings for certain types of activities. To monitor the effectiveness of the scientific activity of teachers, a rating based on the indicators of research activity defined by corporate standards of scientific activity and digital competence—the Transparency Rating (Fig. 5)—has been introduced. The indicators of the publication activity of teachers (number of publications, citation, h-index, i10-index), in particular in influential scientometric databases, are taken into account in the methodologies of the most authoritative international and Ukrainian educational ratings.
The rating is based on the citation rates of scientific
publications in the three most important scientometric
databases—Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and is a
motivating factor for teachers to update their own
eportfolio profiles, create profiles in scientometric databases,
in case of absence, update information in profiles, in
particular Google Scholar, supplementing profiles with
indexed publications, disseminating research results,
discussing them in the international network scientific
community, thus developing skills in the use of digital
technologies in the organization of research and
dissemination of research results [
All available digital resources of the university form an integral information infrastructure—the Digital Campus, which provides safe and convenient access to all necessary digital resources, protecting the personal data of users and ensuring uninterrupted operation of systems. Information resources in the Digital Campus are presented in the following categories (Fig. 6): – – – – – –
Digital science Digital control Image and Leadership Digital space Infrastructure. Digital Campus is proven to provide sufficient support for all educational process participants. According to the survey of scientific and pedagogical staff members at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (https://forms.gle/DGiF8cg9tXcBhrYbA) aimed at studying current aspects of the university teachers’ professional activities, 74,3% of the respondents estimate the Digital Campus as a very convenient digital environment. The level of sufficiency of resources in Digital Campus estimated as Excellent and Very Good by the university staff members reaches the following indicators: Digital education—95,7%; Digital science—87%; Digital control—80%; Image and leadership—87%; Digital space—92,8%; Infrastructure—84,3% (Fig. 7). Although there is a high level of satisfaction with Digital Campus, there is room for development. Among the requests by research and teaching staff are the implementation of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, improvement of current research presentation on the university chairs/departments, strengthening of opportunities for research and conference activities presented in Digital Campus, and digital projects. This proves the need for the further development and expansion of the Digital campus and its integration with all the university resources including human, digital, and physical. In the future, there is a strategic vision of how the Digital Campus in the process of its development is transformed as a component of the open university ecosystem which is going to include human resources, systems, and equipment and ensure security, accessibility, sustainability, implementation of innovations, etc.
Therefore, we see the next important stage as the development of the already implemented and bringing it to a new stage—the stage of designing the open university ecosystem, which is a complex of interacting human and material resources, physical and virtual campuses, which ensures the development of the university as a system as a whole to achieve the strategic goals of the university’s sustainable development, which is formed as a result of the synergy of education, science, innovation, the state, business, investors, academic community to create a value proposition, openness, transformability and transnationality, which corresponds to the vision “Universities without walls: vision for 2030” of the European Association of Universities [1], which member is also Grinchenko University. In the context of digital transformation, the design of the open university ecosystem should be based on an integrated approach to cybersecurity, considering the requirements for information security and data privacy. Ensuring a high level of information security is facilitated by the use of multi-level protection systems, such as data encryption, limited access to resources, information backup, and the introduction of modern cybersecurity tools such as antivirus programs, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), the implementation of a privacy policy that includes the use of data anonymization and minimization mechanisms, ensuring the rights of users to protect personal information following the requirements of the law.
An indicative model of the open university ecosystem is shown in Fig. 8. The open university ecosystem model involves the interaction of people, systems, and resources, and envisages the creation of a safe, innovative, sustainable, and integrated environment that actively uses the capabilities of artificial intelligence. It is expected that the system will be constantly evolving under the influence of digital transformation, while remaining secure and ensuring sustainable development, considering environmental, social, and economic aspects. The open university ecosystem is a dynamic structure that combines innovative solutions and advanced technologies to create an effective, safe, and accessible educational environment.
Human resources as a part of the ecosystem are addressed not only as people who provide the ecosystem operation but also as ecosystem development potential. That means the ecosystem must include both tools to ensure high-quality work of human resources and to give opportunities for professional development. Equipment refers to the physical resources of the ecosystem including infrastructure, networks, computer equipment, etc. The system includes all digital resources of the university ecosystem. In the process of open university ecosystem design the main features of its operation must be kept in focus: innovation, sustainability, accessibility, and security. Innovations are the driving force of ecosystem development. They imply technical resources, software, pedagogical approaches, and managerial solutions. In this context, AI should be mentioned as one of the most impactful technologies of today. The development of such technologies as AI would influence higher education and universities must learn how to manage it and get a use of it rather than ignore it. Sustainability includes the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of the open university ecosystem development. It ensures the long-term and cost-effective functioning of the ecosystem and its positive impact on all stakeholders, society, and the environment. Accessibility considers both physical and digital spaces of the university and provides equal opportunities for study and work for people with different abilities and backgrounds. Security refers to the physical security of campuses and all material resources and digital space security. Cybersecurity is one of the highest priority issues in the open university ecosystem design as it ensures personal information security, ecosystem information security, and the provision of a smooth educational process in the digital environment.
The strategic priorities for the digital transformation of higher education set out in European and national regulations include infrastructure development, technology integration, managerial digitalization, teacher competence and quality assurance, and the creation of a safe and open educational environment. The implementation of these priorities is key to improving the quality of education, the competitiveness of universities, and the readiness of students for the digital era, which will promote wider access to education, innovative teaching methods, active student participation, enhanced research opportunities, and a favorable environment for cooperation and innovation. Designing an open university ecosystem in the context of digital transformation requires an integrated approach to cybersecurity, constant monitoring, and adaptation to new threats. This involves not only the implementation of technical solutions but also the development of a cybersecurity culture among all participants in the educational process, the development of security policies, and regular training. Thus, key components such as security, innovation, sustainability and sustainable infrastructure, accessibility, and integration of artificial intelligence serve as the basis for the formation of an open university ecosystem.
After analyzing the experience of creating various ecosystems, including university ecosystems, which are formed in the context of educational transformation, the strengths, and demand for university ecosystems, the authors found the lack of a sustainable algorithm for designing a university ecosystem, an unambiguous definition of concepts related to the process of designing ecosystems, variability in the use of names, different approaches to presenting the structure of the ecosystem, etc.
Digital transformation calls for the establishment of an open university ecosystem, which involves changes in organizational structure and educational paradigms. Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University uses the integration of physical and virtual campuses to improve collaboration and provide greater accessibility. A Digital Campus, a System for the development of digital competence of teachers, a system of ratings, an electronic learning system, information, and an educational environment will serve as a sufficient basis for the university’s digital transformation and for building an open university ecosystem.
The cybersecurity of the open university ecosystem is a strategic priority that ensures the sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness of the university in the digital age. The protection of information resources, including academic data, research, and intellectual property, is the key to the successful functioning of a higher education institution and its reputation.
The current study is aimed at and limited to theoretical results. Given the feasibility and relevance of the study, it is planned to further substantiate and design the ecosystem, defining the principles and criteria for its success. [1] [2]