Abstract:

Pandemic has been affecting learning and teaching process since March 2020. Innovation is playing a key role, converting the health emergency as an opportunity to implement new teaching tools, and to encourage higher education institutions to apply digital tools (on line platforms, recording on line lessons, on line quizzes, dissemination of seminars and lessons through social media as YouTube, Facebook) already existing but not much used because there was no necessity.
The objective of this paper is to investigate the very recent literature on the topic and to try to offer a literature review related to previous health emergency and the related security measures adopted in higher institutions until the Coronavirus Pandemic. Previous, authors as Cauchemez et al, 2009 investigated about school closures and possible policies to apply during an influenza pandemic.
The literature review will be supported by a bibliometric analysis using the following couple of key words “pandemic, school” and “pandemic, digital learning” and “health emergency, school closure”. The study will be supported by an empirical study provided through a qualitative analysis through the administration of a survey among the main European Universities. The survey will be addressed to students and their families and academic staff will be required to answer questions about the health emergency impact on the education system and the application of digital tools to guarantee learning tools through innovation process, taking in consideration the main pillars of sustainability ( social, economic, environmental, cultural).
Results show that Pandemic has accelerated digital adoption in education system (WEF, 2020). Majority of students benefit from eLearning and taking online classes and lessons with satisfaction, but this doesn’t mean that face-to-face lessons and direct relationships with teachers can become relinquished. University Institutions recognize the utility of smart working as an opportunity to organize better their work, facilitating a more flexible interaction with students, considering online learning activities as added services that does not replace face to face lessons. Increasing effectiveness of technology innovations in education, mostly though online learning raises engagement time and reduces the cost efficiency of education. (Serdyukov., 2017).
Other aspects such as social cohesion control and privacy are also analysed. Finally, online learning as also an impact on families. Students accustomed to living their lives without any distinction virtual and real, they are also ferrying the rest of the family towards digital, pushing family members to use the main streaming platforms.
The learnings from COVID-19 can iterate a change in the educational system by bringing although a blended /rotating learning system, with offline and online elements, as interesting options, requiring a change in both the quantity and quality of the teaching and learning capacity.

Keywords:

Passionate learning environment , Learn-Unlearn-Relearn, strategic flexibility.