Digital Transformation in International Education

The chapter starts with a reflection on the nature and effects of the digital acceleration of higher education imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The first part examines the various forms and experiences of virtual internationalisation brought to the fore by the health emergency. This is done using an illustrative case of the experience of the Department of Engineering for Innovation at the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy). Then the reflection shifts to the need to distinguish between the short-term and long-term effects of the ongoing digital transformation in higher education. This distinction cannot and will not be addressed in isolation from the effects on the entire higher education sector. From this perspective, the final part of the chapter will be devoted to considering whether and to what extent this transition responds to the objectives of the new European planning in terms of international education mobility: specifically, con cerning the potential benefits and challenges of the massive diffusion of digital tech nologies regarding inclusion (of both individuals and territories) and the effects in terms of the environment and sustainability.