Factors and methods for assessing the value of digital intellectual assets in the digital university

Abstract

The digital transformation of higher education is accompanied by the emergence of new intangible resources – platforms, data, algorithms, digital teacher avatars, and educational services – which highlights the problem of their valuation. Traditional approaches to intangible assets are insufficient, as they do not account for the specific determinants of the university environment. The purpose of the article is to identify the factors shaping the value of universities’ digital intellectual assets and to substantiate the applicability of the income, market, and cost approaches to their valuation. The study is based on a systemic approach, methods of analysis and synthesis, and comparative analysis of practices. External and internal, traditional and specific value factors are systematized, among which the key ones are scalability, network effects, interoperability of standards, data legal purity, and demonstrable educational and scientific effect. The results showed that the income approach is fundamental, as it most fully captures cash flows from licensing, cost savings, and data monetization. The market approach is useful when market analogues exist, while the cost approach has limited relevance. An evaluation toolkit is proposed, including discounted cash flows, the relief-from-royalty method, real options, scenario and stochastic analysis. It is concluded that universities require their own system for valuing digital intellectual assets, ensuring transparency, accountability, and reproducibility of management decisions.