Abstract
In recent years, the rapid development of technological innovation has transformed the business world. Digital transformation improves the economic positioning of companies, contributing to society and the environment, but beyond technological evolution, it also brings social and cultural changes. With the new trends, companies saw the need to train people with digital skills and higher education institutions (HEIs) were forced to change their teaching methods to keep up with the new demands of the labour market. In this context, it is intended to identify the influence that HEIs play in the digital development of regions, in this case, the influence of Public Polytechnic Institutes of Porto in the development of the Metropolitan Area of Porto. The methodology adopted to answer the objectives of this study and research questions formulated, was an exploratory study, using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The results obtained allowed us to verify the positive influence of HEIs in the digital development of the Metropolitan Area of Porto. As well as identify the motivations that lead companies to participate in digital transformation initiatives, identify the skills needed to meet the demands of the labour market and identify the efforts made by HEIs to keep up with the digital evolution of society.
Highlights
The globalization and economic internationalization that has taken place in recent years is essentially due to the growing political, economic and financial interdependence of relations between different countries [1]
The results indicate that the main motivations for the implementation of digital transformation are related to customer expectations, business growth (56%) and business model innovation (43.2%)
It was found that respondents who had worked in the sector for up to 5 years more often agreed that the personalisation of services was a motivation for the implementation of digital transformation, unlike respondents who had worked in the sector for more than 5 years
Summary
The globalization and economic internationalization that has taken place in recent years is essentially due to the growing political, economic and financial interdependence of relations between different countries [1]. As well as the new skills required by the labour market [5], companies and higher education institutions (HEIs) saw the need to train people with digital skills and basic programming knowledge [6]. Competitiveness in higher education has been growing between Institutions and Countries and European universities have changed their teaching methods [7], to prepare increasingly more qualified professionals in different areas of knowledge [8]. The main objective of this study was to identify the influence that HEIs play in the digital development of regions, especially the Public Polytechnic Institutes in the Metropolitan Area of Porto. The analysis of the interviews and the results obtained from the questionnaires allowed us to verify the positive influence of HEIs in the digital development of the regions of the Metropolitan Area of Porto. As well as identifying the motivations that lead companies to adopt the digital transformation, the skills needed to respond to the new demands of the labour market and the strategy adopted by HEIs to follow the digital evolution of society
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