Perspectives on Digital Competences in Higher Education
A joint event organised by Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland & Massey University.
Join us for two international perspectives on advancing digital competences in higher education. We will explore how design-based implementation and co-design approaches are being used at the University of Southern Denmark, and also “learning circles” — a professional development model empowering educators to set goals, self-direct their learning, and integrate generative AI into teaching. We also delve into the integration of artificial intelligence within digital competency frameworks, with insights from the Open University of Catalonia’s fully online model, including a case study on the “ICT Skills” course and strategies for embedding AI into the curriculum.
Time and venue
Date: Friday 21 November 2025
Time: 10:15am–12:30pm
Venue: B201-265, 10 Symonds Street (map)
RSVP
For questions and to RSVP, please contact Lucila Carvalho at l.carvalho@massey.ac.nz or Bettina Schwenger at bettina.schwenger@auckland.ac.nz
Image: Philipp Katzenberger on Unsplash
Fostering Digital Competences at the University of Southern Denmark: Supporting Integration, Building Capacity & Facilitating Learning Circles
10:15–11:15am (followed by a coffee break)
Speakers: Inger-Marie Falgren Christensen and Pernille Stenkil Hansen from University of Southern Denmark.
Inger-Marie will present a research project, the purpose of which is to investigate how best to support the integration of digital competences in subjects and study programs at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southern Denmark. The approaches used in the project is design-based implementation research (DBIR) and co-design. The DBIR-researcher is guided by four principles:
- Focus on persistent problems of practice from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives
- Commit to iterative, collaborative design
- Develop theory related to both classroom learning and implementation through systematic inquiry
- Develop organisational capacity for sustaining change in systems
This presentation introduces how these principles have been applied in a first phase of the project and highlights key benefits and pitfalls of the DBIR approach.
Pernille will introduce the competence development format learning circles, which enables teachers to set personal development goals, self-regulate their learning, and share knowledge within a supportive community of practice. The learning circle format addresses participants’ teaching needs and challenges, making the development relevant and meaningful, and facilitating the transfer of learning to their practices. A learning circle includes up to 5 teachers and a facilitator in an action-based learning process that involves self-study, synchronous or asynchronous attendance, and practical application in participants’ teaching. Learning circles is used at the University of Southern Denmark to disseminate knowledge on and promote the reflected use of generative AI by teaching staff, thereby contributing to a more inclusive and resilient educational landscape at the university.
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Competences in Higher Education
11:30am–12:30pm
Speakers: Montse Guitert, Teresa Romeu, and Albert Sangrà from Open University of Catalonia (UOC).
This presentation addresses the urgent need to formally integrate artificial intelligence and digital competencies into higher education curricula, using the experience of a fully online educational model as a key catalyst for this transformation. We begin the discussion with a critical analysis of current European and Catalan digital competency frameworks, assessing their readiness to assimilate AI knowledge as a fundamental requirement for both students and faculty. The central component of this analysis focuses on the evolving artificial intelligence competency framework, meticulously detailing the ethical, practical, and pedagogical skills essential to ensuring academic success and fostering job market readiness in a rapidly digitising global economy. This theoretical basis is supported by an empirical review and a seminar with experts, the results of which provide comprehensive data on trends in the adoption of digital skills in Catalonia and Europe.
We conclude by presenting a detailed case study on the successful integration of AI in digital skills’ development at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). This study specifically highlights the efforts made in the “ICT Skills” course, based on the findings of a recent institutional publication on the integration of AI in course design. In addition, we will outline the specific next steps that the institution has planned for this academic year, offering practical guidance on how higher education institutions can proactively manage and leverage the AI revolution. The UOC’s experience serves as a clear example of how to bridge the gap between theoretical competency frameworks and their practical implementation in a fully online context.
Presenter biographies
Inger-Marie Falgren Christensen
Inger-Marie is Assistant Professor in learning, design and technology at the Department of Design, Media and Educational Science and affiliated with the Centre for Learning Computational Thinking at the University of Southern Denmark. She holds a PhD in learning designs for the integration of computational thinking in the humanities in HE and her research aims to broaden and rethink approaches to teaching and learning with a particular focus on developing and investigating designs for students’ active, authentic, situated and embodied cognition and learning with analogue and digital technologies. She is currently exploring how to support the integration of digital competences in HE, using design-based implementation research and co-design approaches. Email: imc@sdu.dk
Pernille Stenkil Hansen
Pernille is Senior E-learning Advisor at the SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Southern Denmark. She has extensive experience in developing, delivering, and evaluating flexible and engaging competence development formats at universities and is dedicated to helping teachers blend online and face-to-face activities to optimise student learning through active teaching methods. In her role, Pernille also serves as a co-leader of the lecturer training programme, where she facilitates workshops and learning circles focused on educational technologies. Pernille’s academic background includes a Master’s degree in Web Communication and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Science. Additionally, she is a qualified schoolteacher. Email: pha@sdu.dk
Montse Guitert
Montse is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). Since the university’s inception in 1995, she has been actively involved in the area of Digital Competences. Since 2009, she is the director of Edul@b research group, a consolidated research group on Education and ICT. The main mission of Edul@b is to analyse the future of education and determine the most appropriate ways for technology to contribute to the quality and improvement of educational digital transformation processes and for their quality, proposing actions that favor the transfer of knowledge and its impact on society. Her research focuses on the use of ICT in education and training, with particular emphasis on online collaboration, online teacher professional development, and digital competences. She has participated and led numerous national and international research and transfer projects in these fields. She has published numerous articles and has participated in international conferences and workshops in her areas of research. Furthermore, she was awarded the Jaume Vicens Vives Distinction in 2016 by the Government of Catalonia for her leadership in online training on digital competences in the university environment and its impact on society.
Teresa Romeu
Teresa is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) where she is responsible for coordinating the initial online training for all new faculty members who join the University. She is a researcher at the Edul@b Research Group (UOC) and the UNESCO Chair in Education and Technology for Social Change. An active member of the European University Association Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups (TPGs) and being recognized as an EDEN Fellow by the European Distance Education Network. Her expertise focuses on online collaborative teaching and the application of digital technologies in education across various levels and fields. She also specializes in the training and assessment of digital competencies and in teacher professional development. She has contributed significantly to her field through numerous national and European projects. She is the author of several publications and a frequent speaker at national and international conferences.
Albert Sangrà
Albert is Director of the UOC Futures of Education in the Digital Age Research Centre (UOC-FuturEd) and for the UNESCO Chair in Education and Technology for Social Change at the Open University of Catalonia. Full professor in the Department of Psychology and Education and researcher in the Edul@b research group. His main areas of research are the uses of ICT in education and training and, in particular, policies, organization, management, and leadership in the implementation of online education (e-learning) and its quality assurance, as well as professional development for online education. He has worked as a consultant and trainer in various online and blended learning projects in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australia, focusing on implementation strategies for the use of technology in teaching and learning and its quality assurance. He has also been a consultant to the World Bank on capacity development through digital learning. Visiting professor at the National Open University of Korea (South Korea), the Università degli Studi di Trento and the Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy), Athabasca University (Canada) and the Universidad del Norte (Colombia), among others. He works as an evaluator in several National Agencies for the Quality Assurance of Higher Education and in several academic journals indexed worldwide.