Enhancing Digital Competences and Leadership in University Students for Professional Growth

Abstract

The digital transformation of social development determines new basic competencies of a graduate of a higher education institution. Against the backdrop of the rapid advancement of information and digital technologies, there is a transformation of the international labor market, which creates new conditions for professional training. The purpose of the research is to provide an extended analysis of the phenomenon of digital competencies in the educational environment of higher education as a key condition for high-quality professional training of students. The study determines the priority areas for the development of professional competence of modern specialists - hard (professional competence) skills, soft (universal) skills and digital skills. All of them are positioned as an integral prerequisite for the successful professional realization of graduates of higher education institutions in the current context of the international labor market. The research summarizes the methodological basis for higher education seekers’ mastery of innovative competencies. The dynamics of digital skills in the context of 2019–2023 are analyzed. The possibilities of traditional and innovative approaches to professional training in the direction of higher education seekers’ mastery of digital competencies, increasing their motivation, adaptability and ability to life-long learning and self-improvement are investigated. It is substantiated that the active integration of innovative pedagogical approaches into the educational process contributes to the effective formation of professional competence of students, which finds practical expression in the skills of rapid processing and analysis of information, intensification of professional and personal development.