Integrating Digital Skills into Higher Education Curricula: A Syrian Public Universities' Analysis

Abstract

Integrating digital skills into higher education institutions' curricula is critical for 21st-century students and beneficial for educational institutions. This study investigates the status quo of digital skills at Syrian public universities and surveys the most important skills and modules from the point of view of business and engineering students. We find that Syrian public higher education institutions are in immense need of integrating digital skills into their curricula. Students indicate that digital problem solving as well as programming and web development are among the most needed skills by students. They also recognized that data analysis, digital economics, and digital innovation are the most important modules for their future career. We recommend that Syrian public higher education institutions revise their curricula to accommodate students' module needs as well as offering training on the highlighted skills. This upskill requires building the capacity of academic staff at Syrian public higher education institutions on the evolving digital skills in addition to improving those institutions' digital infrastructure.