Modeling the educational and economic ecosystem of the digital university in the context of intellectual capital formation

Abstract

The article provides theoretical and methodological substantiation for modeling the educational and economic ecosystem of the digital university as a strategic entity of intellectual capital formation in the context of digital transformation. The essence, structural architectonics, and functional relationships of the main subsystems of the digital university ecosystem, which include organizational, infrastructural, innovative, and business process components, are determined. It is argued that the ecosystem approach ensures the integration of educational, economic, and digital components, forming a new format of university interaction in the digital environment. Alternative theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of digital universities are analyzed, and their limitations in covering the system dynamics of educational and economic interaction are determined. The advantages of the ecosystem model as the most relevant to the current challenges of the digital economy, which involves decentralization of management, interdisciplinarity, flexibility, and sustainability of the education system, are emphasized. The research reveals the peculiarities of the formation and development of the digital university as a multi-level open system operating at the local, regional, national, and global levels. The main stages of the educational and economic ecosystem formation are formulated, strategic guidelines for its functioning are determined, and key principles of management based on long-term goals, efficiency assessment, and institutional adaptation are outlined. The research findings show that the digital university as an educational and economic ecosystem can not only provide effective training of specialists for the digital economy but also become a key tool for the sustainable reproduction of intellectual capital. The necessity of strategic rethinking of higher education through the prism of ecosystemicity is substantiated, which allows for increasing the socio-economic efficiency of institutions in the context of digital transformations.