Philosophy of Digital Man and Digital Society - 2024

Program Digital Economy and E-Learning in the Context of the Europeanization Paradigm

The Creative-Innovative Potential of the Digital Individual as a Factor in the Development of a Digitalized Society

The program for the digital transformation of education in EU countries presents an opportunity for Ukraine to leverage various advanced capabilities of European e-learning methodologies. We aim to elucidate the essence of our research subject, encapsulated in the integrated expression "the concept of digital transformation of e-learning in the European Union," while simultaneously delineating the boundaries of the research space. Digital transformation is characterized by the amalgamation of cutting-edge European and Ukrainian experiences and technologies, the proliferation of innovative creative technologies and new processes, as well as the creation of intelligent online products and services. Therefore, it is imperative to utilize the e-technologies offered by the economies of the EU.

The research was conducted through document analysis, theoretical analysis, comparative methods, synthesis, modeling, and expert analysis of reports that established fundamentally new approaches to understanding e-learning in EU countries and its role in addressing instability and uncertainty, termed the VUCA concept. The scientific novelty of this study lies in justifying, based on a civilizational approach, the prioritization of the idea of e-learning in light of the ideal of the information age, guiding the evolution towards a future digital civilization. The European path to a digital economy and society embodies solidarity, prosperity, and well-being among countries, all of which can be facilitated by digitalization as the principal concept and research focal point, logically deriving from the mainstream trajectory of prior phases in the unfolding actions of the European evolutionary mechanism and the overcoming of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objectives of the study "Digital Economy and E-Learning: European Experience" include creating new opportunities for business and education. This will accelerate the implementation of European digitalization experiences, transforming the Ukrainian business landscape, stimulating the use of the latest European digital technologies to enhance learning models, and establishing new electronic business models and the intelligence of e-business, thereby increasing the effectiveness of innovative and electronic learning in the context of forming a European vision in managing human development as a foundation for achieving progress.

This term inevitably raises the analysis of the research subject—the concept of digital transformation of e-learning in EU countries—to the highest European level. At this level of e-learning, the goals to be defined include:

1. Supporting quality e-learning;
2. Developing digital skills;
3. Stimulating innovation and digital competencies across all educational institutions;
4. Creating open education systems.

Here, certain circumstances emerge that we must constantly consider, namely the implementation and necessity of stimulating, supporting, and expanding the purposeful use of digital and innovative educational practices. It is anticipated that the specific influence of established centers of localized European values will rely on a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the realm of education and vocational training, including business circles, research institutions, and higher education establishments.

All indications suggest that the current priority areas for e-learning encompass:

1. More effective utilization of digital technologies within the education system;
2. The development of relevant digital competencies and skills for digital transformation;
3. The enhancement of education through improved data analysis and forecasting.

For each priority in the digital transformation of e-learning in EU countries, measures will be implemented to assist EU member states in addressing digitalization challenges. It is posited that only at the highest tier of historical progress can the objective prerequisites for the transformation of e-learning be established, as this is a permanent process in absolute motion that is crucial for understanding the logic of socio-historical progress in the context of the geopolitical reconfiguration of the world and contemporary challenges of globalization.

These include:

1. Providing tools to assist educators in more effective technology usage, including enhancing internet connectivity;
2. Targeted actions towards the development of relevant digital competencies;
3. Renewed efforts to improve education through the collection of accurate factual data and analytical reports.

Innovations in education and vocational training significantly depend on the empowerment of educators and their associations, fostering the harmonization of individual and societal goals, and the convergence of the whole with the individual, associating the Ego with what constitutes the whole.

The Erasmus+ program achieves this through collegial learning, synthesizing the noosphere, the informational prerequisites of society, and the technosphere of contemporary civilization. New training seminars led by experts and practitioners for both policymakers and educators, including platforms of European associations, can further strengthen connections by developing specific multilingual content and utilizing key EU platforms such as the School Education Gateway and the Teacher Academy, thereby cultivating a European context for human resource development.

The research necessitates clarifying the aforementioned units of analysis in the subject field of European education. Mixed mobility will continue to advance with new opportunities in Erasmus+ to support both online and face-to-face learning and to increase the mobility of students from various countries. Digital readiness in education demands know-how and necessitates the adaptation of the education system. To expand the scale of innovation policy and practice, state support is essential. For the successful implementation of innovations and digital technologies into the educational process, educators require infrastructure improvements and leadership support. Realization is only possible through an innovative approach that combines teacher training, curriculum adjustments, and educational material development to incorporate digital learning models.

This overarching organizational approach to the integration of digital technologies into teaching and learning is reflected in the SELFIE self-assessment tool. Mobility and digital technologies emerge as pivotal tools for further enhancement in education. Erasmus+ projects, such as the European Student Card and Erasmus without Papers, will be expanded and integrated with authentication work under the Connecting Europe Facility program. Based on this, European humanism is affirmed and developed as the foundation of enlightenment ideology.

Let us turn our attention to the next priority highlighted in the context of educational transformation, which is the development of relevant digital skills and competencies necessary for acquiring digital competences within educational institutions. In specific historical circumstances, digital education is a necessity determined by a particular social system. To thrive in a digital society, it is crucial for citizens to cultivate the ability to navigate digital risks; thus, acquiring the necessary competencies to meet challenges and seize the opportunities presented by digital transformation becomes imperative.

Digital skills are foundational; hence, there is a pressing need for their widespread implementation, as all citizens should possess an understanding of digital competence at various levels. Researchers note that, at the current stage of scientific development, there is no unified approach to comprehending the essence of European education. However, there is a need for deep immersion in the processes of digitization to obtain more specialized skills in the field of information technology, which are essential for mastering ICT professions, programming, combating cybercrime, and achieving cybersecurity.

Digital competence is an integral part of the European system of key competencies for lifelong learning, which all citizens should possess. It acts as a complex regulator of human activity, encompassing both the external world and the individual, in all its objective characteristics. In the age of information, digital competence gains significant heuristic value, signifying a confident and critical use of digital technologies, and encompasses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for all citizens in a digital society, grounded in practical experience gleaned from leading foreign companies.

The European system of digital competence for citizens delineates digital competence across five domains, allowing for an analysis of the patterns of development in European education from an energy-information perspective, which presents an exceedingly promising aspect for us:

1. Information literacy and data handling skills;
2. Communication and collaboration through digital technologies;
3. Creation of contemporary digital content;
4. Security in a broad sense—pertaining to personal data, public health, and environmental conservation;
5. Identification and resolution of educational objectives.

In transforming electronic education within the countries of the European Union, the European community has focused on combating the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and advancing digital electronic education. Thus, a favorable context for realizing the aims of this study is provided by examining the "Digital Compass"—a plan that mandates the implementation of all digital transformation programs in Europe by 2030, with at least 80 percent of the EU population expected to acquire basic digital skills. The European Union has introduced a new project, ETUCE/EFEE, aimed at harnessing potential opportunities and addressing issues related to the integration of digital technologies in the economy, education, and healthcare.

One of the key lessons from the pandemic is that digitization can unite individuals regardless of their physical location; digital infrastructure and rapid connectivity offer new opportunities, as people potentially converge on an integrative vision of the European community as a cohesive entity. Digitization could become a decisive factor in enhancing rights and freedoms, allowing individuals to transcend specific territories, social standings, or community groups, thereby opening new avenues for learning, entertainment, work, exploration, and the fulfillment of ambitions through travel. This will enable a society where geographical distance holds less significance, as people will be able to work, study, interact with government administrations, manage their finances and bills, utilize healthcare systems, automated transportation systems, participate in democratic life, enjoy leisure activities, and engage in discussions with individuals across the EU, including in rural and remote areas, overcoming the challenges posed by the instability of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities within the digital realm, highlighting increased dependency on critical, often non-EU technologies, and underscored reliance on a handful of major tech companies that facilitated cyber thefts, amplifying the impact of misinformation on democratic societies. A new digital divide has emerged between well-developed urban areas and rural, remote territories, as well as between those who can fully benefit from an accessible and secure digital environment with a comprehensive range of services and those who cannot. A similar division has arisen between businesses that can leverage the full potential of the digital environment and those that are not yet fully digitized. In this regard, the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled a new "digital poverty of information," necessitating the provision of opportunities for all citizens and businesses in Europe to utilize digital transformation for a better and more prosperous life. According to the European vision, the year 2030 is envisioned as a digital society where no one is left behind.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the potential and paved the way for the widespread adoption of innovation. Therefore, we draw on numerous foreign and domestic concepts of digitalization in education, focusing on several types of cognitive risks facing students: information overload, devaluation of memory capabilities, and diminished levels of critical thinking. We emphasize the probabilistic nature of these cognitive risks, shaped by a complex of scientific and methodological, organizational and pedagogical, psychological, and individual personal factors, along with the psychophysiological traits of students, who vary in their vulnerability to these risks.

The EU will strive to achieve digital independence in an open and interdependent world, as well as to implement policies aimed at empowering individuals and businesses so that the digital future is human-centered, stable, and more prosperous. This entails reinforcing vulnerabilities and eliminating dependencies while accelerating investments. The EU will also promote its digital agenda on the international stage and advocate for the alignment or convergence of foreign norms and standards with European ones. The communiqué published on March 9 proposes to agree upon a comprehensive set of digital principles that would enable the rapid launch of significant projects involving multiple countries and prepare legislative proposals delineating viable governance principles to oversee the undertaken work. This plan has been termed the "Digital Compass," based on the development of digital technologies in European education.

In announcing the establishment of a package of measures, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated: "The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of implementing digital technologies and skills for work, learning, and other everyday tasks, as well as highlighted areas that require improvement. We must conduct this European digital decade in such a way that all citizens and businesses can access the best that the digital world has to offer. The current 'Digital Compass' provides us with a clear vision of how to achieve this."

The culmination of this research is a proposal outlining pathways to mitigate the cognitive risks associated with the digitalization of education. Their essence is examined as a systemic quality of the European organism, the leading function of which is to generate and maintain, within certain limits, the fundamental characteristics of a potential digital world, subsequently transforming it into a new quality of pervasive digitalization. The authors call for a balanced strategy and consolidated efforts from all stakeholders within the digital education system to achieve the goal of creating a safe communicative and educational environment, utilizing information in formats conducive to storage and processing through computer technology, and facilitating the transmission of information via computer networks for the digital transformation of Europe.

Digital education is defined as an activity predominantly based on the digital presentation of information for educational and managerial purposes, as well as on technologies for its storage and processing. This allows for a significant enhancement of the quality of the educational process and its management at all levels, creating a modern and secure digital educational environment that ensures high-quality educational processes and accessibility of education across various types and levels, while fostering innovative aspects of developing creative technologies.

It is concluded that, regardless of the focus of our endeavors, we are engaged alongside a digital intellect that manifests in forms such as: 1) "Big Data"; 2) the "Big Five" personality traits; 3) "cyber-DNA," and other technologies that dictate our actions. Digitalization, in this context, is viewed as a functional organ of informational origin, which, amid the predominance of informational production over material, is poised to "explode" into qualitatively new attributive properties linked to the digitalization of society as a whole. An individual within the digital society will not emerge with an arsenal of pre-digital methodological frameworks that require a return to the initial unity of logic, epistemology, ethics, or aesthetics in an era of epistemological uncertainty, teetering on the edge of order and chaos.

In a world of constantly shifting demands within the labor market, individuals will need to learn new skills, change jobs, and engage in new professions throughout their careers. This necessity arises from a confluence of factors, such as accelerated technological advancements, the digitalization of the economy, globalization, demographic shifts, migration, and climate change. These developments must be integrated into the philosophy of digital education within the European Union and subsequently into the model of digital identity and society.

Despite the fact that the full scope and ultimate consequences of these changes are not yet completely known, their impact will vary from country to country. Education and training systems will require the development of services and tools that support teachers, education providers, and students, ensuring the acquisition of the proper skills necessary for labor markets. Digital technologies are transforming our societies, and digital competence, as one of the key competencies of the EU, is becoming increasingly valuable in virtually all aspects of our lives, particularly in employment and career advancement. Objective and quantifiable factors driving the digital transformation of electronic education in EU countries include the European digital matrix and the value-laden context of humanism, where the individual is paramount.

Digital transformation is occurring to varying degrees everywhere, and digitalization programs are supporting all countries in harnessing the opportunities they present to address challenges related to digital technologies within the context of ongoing educational reforms. These initiatives may be hindered by the divergent nature of national cultures, diametrically opposed ideologies concerning the organization of societal life, and contradictions regarding the understanding of the state, governance methods, and individual behavior within society.

The digitalization of the economy, education, and medicine has emerged as one of the tools that the European community has prioritized in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the "Digital Compass 2030" program, viewed as a condition for overcoming the pandemic. This is aligned with the logic of Europeans striving to discern a path through the darkness of the future.

The concept of Europeanization reflects how integration processes influence participating countries, which at the national level drive general changes aimed at establishing the morphological integrity of the European digital organism. This necessity has generated a social demand for a new form of digital life and a new attractor for the self-realization of the new digital individual of the 21st century.

Thus, the concept of Europeanization is applied to the study of the European Union (rather than Europe as a whole), interpreting it as the "Europeanization" of the member states themselves—strengthening and disseminating shared rules, norms, and practices essential for the existence of a digital civilization characterized by intellectual, informational, and algorithmic elements. In this context, the digital transformation of electronic education in EU countries represents an educational European project aimed at the political, social, and cultural strengthening of the European Union through the formation of models for social protection and institutional support for socially responsible governance in the post-COVID-19 era.

Consequently, the concept of "digital transformation of electronic education in the EU countries" is proposed to be understood in three ways.

First, it refers to the emergence and development at the pan-European level of multilevel governance structures—political, legal, and social educational institutions formalizing the interaction of actors during political decision-making, as well as the establishment of educational systems specializing in the creation of mandatory European rules. In this context, the term "Europeanization" effectively serves as a synonym for "European integration," indicating the formation of a structure (a unified center) for collective decision-making by the member states of the European Union.

Second, it denotes a derivative process of European integration, wherein the political, economic, and educational dynamics of the European Union become integrated into the organizational logic of national digital education policies at all levels. This interpretation of Europeanization emphasizes that the actions of pan-European institutions can yield diverse consequences and outcomes across member states. The EU's influence at the national level depends not only on the efficacy of its operational bodies but also on specific national factors that facilitate the transformation of electronic education through the adoption of new technologies and economic growth following the COVID-19 pandemic in EU countries.

The second interpretation of "Europeanization of digital education" permits a discussion of two types of Europeanization—"top-down" and "bottom-up." "Top-down" Europeanization occurs, for instance, through the European Central Bank's establishment of indicators for pan-European price stability. Conversely, "bottom-up" Europeanization takes place through structural economic reforms in the realm of the market labor force, tariff agreements, and social expenditures.

In implementing these reforms, participating countries effectively compete for the most advantageous national political or educational programs. States can enhance their status and influence within the EU by promoting their programs, enabling other member states to adopt them, fostering opportunities for collective responses to relevant actions, self-learning capabilities, a propensity for collective responsibility, and the refinement of socially responsible societies.

In light of this, the participating states strive for authenticity in their reform strategies, interpreting the nature of models according to their own decision-making processes. This approach aims to facilitate the transfer of specific elements of the local educational system to the national level, thereby minimizing the costs associated with aligning these systems and gaining competitive advantages.

Consequently, the process of "Europeanization from below" is defined within the framework of the concept of "multiple Europes," whereby each participating state seeks to assert and attain a conceptual leadership role in the domains of economic growth policy, employment, or the implementation of digital education. In this holistic context, it becomes a genuine agent in the establishment of the noosphere as a "thinking layer of the biosphere."

The third interpretation of the term "Europeanization" essentially synthesizes the preceding two, encompassing the development and consolidation of certain institutions and practices at the EU level on one hand, and the concerns of member states regarding their national educational systems on the other. This appropriation pertains not only to the educational system as a whole but also to its specific elements, such as rules, policy paradigms, political programs of member countries, and so forth. Thus, Europeanization is characterized as a process of constructing, disseminating, and institutionalizing formal and informal procedures, beliefs, and norms, which are initially defined and consolidated during the formulation of common decisions for the European Union and subsequently incorporated into the logic of local discourse, identities, political structures, and public organizations.

The concept of digital transformation in electronic education within the countries of the European Union alters the matrix of personal energy-information power fields and restructures its cognitive mechanisms. Individuals begin to perceive the informational world in a different dimension, redefine their own function within it, and start to cultivate a new relationship with themselves, society, and nature in the context of socially responsible dimensions.

The third reading of the term "Europeanization" not only allows for its convergence with the term "European integration" but also enables a broader understanding of the latter, with the aim of establishing the potential for integration within the framework of forming a digital identity as the ideal of a 21st-century human. This understanding takes into account both the overarching European level of integration processes and the impact of these processes on national players. If in a narrow sense digital transformation in electronic education within the EU is directly linked to the formation and development of European institutions and policies, in a broader sense it also encompasses Europeanization as the influence of these institutions and policies on participating countries, considering economic, educational, cultural, and ecological policies.

The implementation of digital transformation in electronic education in the EU clearly indicates that Euro-integration undeniably implies Europeanization. Conversely, Europeanization is a necessary consequence of Euro-integration, characterized by concepts that, while being subjects of "emotions, sympathies and antipathies, and sometimes conflicts," are not only thought about but also experienced. This does not allow for a reversal of this dependency.

The dual orientation of the very processes of Europeanization accounts for this. On one hand, these processes may target the member states of the EU. In this case, Europeanization is discussed in the context of the EU, which is a necessary element of Euro-integration in a broad sense.

On the other hand, Europeanization may also be applied to countries outside the European Union, including candidate countries for membership or neighboring states. In this context, it is more accurate to speak of Europeanization or Europeanization in the context of the EU's periphery, which exists as an extension of forms of European political organization and governance beyond the territory of the European Union.

In the first case, the European Union is viewed as the structure within which the process of Europeanization occurs, associated with the adoption of supranational norms and rules by its current member states. The leading motive in this process is the acceptance of supranational norms and rules by the current EU member states, which is denoted by the term "digital transformation in electronic education within the countries of the European Union." It is generally understood that the majority of public players respond to EU policies and institutions in accordance with the habits and experiences recognized within their national political systems, resulting in, for instance, a weak reverse influence of the EU on national models of interest representation.

Thus, a networked form of interest representation has emerged at the EU level, characterizing political relations beyond the essence of existing institutions. At the national levels, models of corporatism, pluralism, and statism continue to exist, demonstrating the adaptation of national actors to the EU through familiar political and governance practices. In the case of Europeanization or Europeanization in the context of the periphery, the European Union acts as an independent and external player concerning its periphery.

The EU Europeanizes its periphery, while the states affected by this process lack institutional means to participate in decision-making by the European Union that impacts their interests. Consequently, peripheral states maintain various types of institutional contacts with the EU, but the nature and intensity of these contacts are determined by the European Union itself. If the term "Europeanization" encompasses both contexts of Europeanization—both the EU and its periphery—the concept of Europeanization remains exclusively tied to the context of the periphery. In this context, Europeanization is perceived as an "interactive process," organized and executed by all players on a voluntary basis, grounded in the development of digital transformation through new technologies aimed at economic recovery.

It is particularly significant that rights, powers, and competencies are distributed among various state levels interconnected within the political process of decision-making and implementation, with no single level able to unilaterally remove itself from this process. The very voluntariness of the convergence of states, societies, and economies is determined by the paradigm of Euro-integration, which in this instance uniquely absorbs the concept of Europeanization, diminishing its research significance.

Indeed, the study of the viability of this phenomenon must be traced according to the following scheme of structural-functional transformations: 1) competencies (education); 2) ideology (education); 3) principles (governance); 4) product (technology); 5) goods (market); 6) artifact (culture).

The paradigm of Europeanization within the context of the EU serves as an integral component of Euro-integration, endorsed as a necessary condition for the convergence of a unified pan-European system for making collective decisions. Thus, it can be studied as an attribute of European integration.

As emphasized in the document, the Digital Compass will reflect the digital intentions of the EU by 2030 in four very specific terms. The first pertains to the digital education of the population and the training of educated specialists in the field of digital technologies. This means that by 2030, 80 percent of all adults must possess basic digital skills related to digitization. Additionally, at least 20 million specialists in the digital sphere should be employed within the EU, with a significant increase in the employment share of women and youth.

The second direction involves the development of secure, effective, and protected digital infrastructure. By 2030, all households should be provided with gigabit-level communications, and the entire population of EU regions should receive coverage from the 5G network.

At that time, Europe is expected to account for no less than 20 percent of the global semiconductor production. The production of advanced and resilient semiconductors in Europe should represent 20 percent of the world output. Furthermore, Europe must establish at least 10,000 efficient and environmentally friendly transmission nodes, and it is anticipated that the first quantum computer will emerge within its borders.

The third direction pertains to digital development for business. By 2030, three out of four companies should employ cloud computing services, extensive databases, and artificial intelligence tools. Additionally, no less than 90 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises should reach at least a basic level of intensity in their utilization of computer technologies.

The fourth objective focuses on the digital advancement of the public sector. By 2030, all key public services must be accessible online. Every EU citizen should have access to their own electronic health data, and at least 90 percent of Europeans ought to employ means of digital identification, rooted in the philosophy of creative education and economy.

Thus, these efforts, according to the European Commission, are intended to assist the EU in overcoming global challenges, fostering cooperation with international partners and organizations that share similar goals, and cultivating a sustainable and effective digital partnership. In this context, the EU has already proposed the establishment of a new EU-US Council on Trade and Technology. The EU aims to support other international partners, particularly through the creation of a Digital Communications Fund. Such goals are reflected in the EU’s multiannual budget for 2021-2027, which allocates no less than 20 percent of expenditures to digital development, as well as in the investment fund for recovery, "Next Generation EU," which totals over €1.8 trillion.