Educating Future Digital Leaders: Developing e-Governance Curriculum in Estonia and Ukraine

Abstract

The successful transformation of a country to an advanced digital state is substantially dependent on education and more specifically, the development of an e-Governance curriculum in higher institutions. Estonia as a role model has demonstrated that e-Governance implementation significantly stems from a strong collaboration between stakeholders such as the state, private sector, and academia. This study aims to examine the risk factors of e-Governance curriculum development in an emergent e-democracy state – Ukraine, and how lessons learnt from Estonia’s digital transformation can be used for coping with underlying risks. To conduct this research, a survey on Digital Competence in e-Governance Education in Ukraine was conducted along with analyzing secondary data related to Estonia’s case. The results suggest that issues related to e-Governance curriculum implementation in Ukraine include comprehensive factors like low digital competence and low awareness in available trainings in e-Governance, as well as access to technology and respected e-learning sources. Thus, the recommendations which stem from Estonia’s experience as an e-state are suggested for overcoming the risk factors that Ukraine faces in e-governance curriculum development.