DigitalWork - Transforming the Higher Education Landscape in South Africa

There are twenty-six public universities in South Africa. Yet, there is no digital transformation in most higher education workplaces. In some universities, digital technologies are advanced, and in others, they are not. The education landscape is partially transformed, and in others, it is a work in progress. Therefore, the study explored the digital environment in the twenty-six public universities in South Africa by using qualitative methods and found that the digital environment in higher education poses digital inequalities that make it difficult for academic staff to work smarter across the board. The playfield is not seamless and given the digital society of a new normal, digital work deserves close attention. The study concludes that digital work in South African higher education requires digital transformation to enable the academic staff to optimally work from everywhere in any educational environment to maximize productivity in the advancement of the academic project and to produce globally competitive and locally relevant graduates.