Will interfaces take over the physical workplace in higher education? A pessimistic view of the future

[Digital futures of the university: Scenarios of sociotechnical change]

For the university, digital technologies proved to be a central element of crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true for teaching. From a "multi-level perspective" (Geels 2004), the disruptive effects of the pandemic open a "window of opportunity" for profound and lasting sociotechnical change. Against this backdrop, this article discusses how members of the university assess the future significance of digital technologies. On the basis of qualitative, empirical research, five scenarios can be distinguished, each of which outlines digital futures in a different way. However, with our analysis of these future scenarios we do not scrutinise the probability of their occurrence, but their desirability. In this way, we identify justifications diploid to argue why further steps towards a digital university should be taken or why not. At this point in time, it is impossible to assess which scenarios of digital universities will ultimately prevail. Not least for this reason, this article is intended as a basis for a broad debate that is yet to be conducted.