Analysis of digital leadership in higher education in creating a world-class university at state universities

The rapid advancement of technology 4.0 has resulted in significant changes in society’s lifestyle, bringing both benefits and complex issues, including those in higher education. To address these challenges, university leaders play a crucial role in leveraging digital technology toward a better future. This study aims to assess the implementation of digital leadership in achieving a world-class university in the era of Industry 4.0 in state universities in Malang City. Using a quantitative approach and survey research design, the study’s population comprises students and lecturers from four state universities in Malang City. From the population of 151,921, 347 respondents were selected using Isaac and Michael’s (1983) formula with a 5% error rate. The study collected data through a questionnaire and analyzed it using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel to present descriptive data on the perspectives of the three parties. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) used in this study tested the hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the implementation of digital leadership in state universities in Malang City. The results revealed a significant difference in the implementation of digital leadership. The academic community in state universities in Malang City strongly agreed that their leaders need to provide the necessary information systems to achieve digital leadership toward a world-class university. However, digital leadership is not yet comprehensively implemented.