Abstract:

There is a growing awareness among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that the acquisition of digital skills can be better served by digital actions aiming at enhancing the participation and involvement of students in solving real life problems identified by community groups. Through active participation, civic engagement, and citizen science activities, HEIs will be able to achieve the upskilling of their students and staff while setting the example for the rest of community members to follow and engage in digital action (DA) projects.

The research process, on which this report is based, includes the collection of several European frameworks relevant to digital competencies and digital action, and subsequently, the identification of the specific frameworks that are closer to the scope of the O4 of the project. Specifically, we identify three particular frames of reference, the European Digital Competence Framework for citizens 2.0, the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators, and the Jisc digital capabilities framework.

Accordingly, this study includes six sections which correspond to each part of the process of research and study of the previously mentioned frameworks. First, we introduce the scope and methodology of this study. Next, we define the notion of “digital skills” and how it can be connected to DA while in section three there is the collection of all frameworks selected during the first phase of the research. We then present the three selected frameworks by identifying the digital skills and competence areas that can be more closely connected with DAs.

Keywords:

Digital skills, EU skills frameworks, digital action, civic engagement, social participation.