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Permanent record · RIR–3012

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.

Open to researchQualified 91/100P4 provenance
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

OECD fields and topic tags

Futures StudiesHigher Education ManagementDigital Sociology

Scope: 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.

originalityAdvanced
methodologyAdvanced
Data accessModerate
ethicsAccessible

Qualification signal

91/100

  • Employs rigorous foresight techniques.
  • Highly relevant for institutional strategic planning.
  • Open-access scholarly source and DOI metadata verified

Provenance

Research Idea Registry 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

Open source ↗