Digital technology is a major economic, political, social and scientific challenge of our times, which profoundly impacts the academic world. Distance learning, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and big data are examples of technological trends that are changing universities. These and other developments are present in the daily lives of students, teaching staff and researchers. They are revolutionising ways of teaching and learning, opening new fields of academic activity, providing powerful tools for producing and sharing knowledge, and encouraging new ways for scientists to interact with society. Digital technology is also contributing to changes for university administrative and technical staff, as services are moving online, new jobs are emerging and novel digital tools are rapidly developed.
The University of Geneva is keenly aware of these issues, and has recognised this digital transformation as a cross-cutting theme that affects all of ist activities. The impact of digital technology was thus explicitly included in 2015 in the University’s strategic plan “The University of Geneva in 2025” *, expressing the institution’s ambition to be “a major player in the digital revolution”. This aim involves, in particular, continuous development of digital infrastructure and services, promoting teaching and research concerning digital technology and ist consequences, implementing new methods of sharing knowledge, and optimising various administrative processes. To achieve this objective, a Digital University initiative was established at the Rectorate level and a Digital Strategy Office (Bureau de la Stratégie Numérique or BSN) was created in 2016, with the mission of defining and piloting the University’s Digital Strategy, as well as monitoring and coordinating digital initiatives within the University and stimulating innovative projects.

Warum ich diesen Text im Biblionetz erfasst habe: Weil mir der Dreiklang, Digitalisierung als Thema, als Werkzeug und als Herausforderung für die Gesellschaft zu sehen, sehr entspricht und meinem ÜBER - MIT - IN entspricht.