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RIR-3012 · Logged 13 July 2026
Scenario Planning for the Digital Transformation of Dutch Higher Education Systems by 2040
This research explores potential future trajectories for Dutch higher education, emphasizing the integration of digital technologies and the resulting systemic shifts in pedagogical and administrative models.
In plain words
What might Dutch universities look like in 2040 as digital technology changes teaching and administration? This study would sketch several believable futures to help university leaders plan ahead.
Primary research question
What are the plausible future scenarios for the Dutch higher education system in response to accelerating digital transformation by 2040?
Knowledge gap
What remains worth asking
Current foresight studies lack comprehensive scenario modeling that accounts for the specific intersection of Dutch institutional autonomy and rapid technological disruption.
Potential contribution
Why it may matter
Assists university leadership in strategic planning and resilience building against long-term systemic volatility.
Academic placement
Academic fields and topic tags
Study frame: Applicable to the Dutch higher education sector and European policy frameworks. · Method signals: Scenario Planning, Delphi Method
Possible study pathways
One question, different levels
Postgraduate diploma
Strategic management of digital change in educational institutions.
Research master’s
Methodological development of scenario planning in public sector systems.
Doctoral
Long-term systemic evolution of higher education under digital disruption.
- originality
- Advanced
- methodology
- Advanced
- Data access
- Moderate
- ethics
- Accessible
Quality and audit
91/100 quality
Safeguard-based audit was not recorded under the prior standard.
- Employs rigorous foresight techniques.
- Highly relevant for institutional strategic planning.
- Open-access scholarly source and DOI metadata verified
This older record can be checked against the current standard on request. It changes only if every academic gate and independent safeguard passes.
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Research Idea curation
- DOI and bibliographic metadata independently resolved
- Open-access status verified
- The research direction is transparently marked as AI-inferred
The public contributor code contains no name or account email.
APA 7 source
Blankesteijn, M. L., & Ghorbani, A. (2025). Embracing the digital horizon: Future scenarios for the Dutch higher education system. Futures, 174, 103702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2025.103702
Paper abstract and discussion context; AI-inferred direction
This is an AI-inferred direction. The source authors did not state it as a recommendation.
Open source ↗