Professional Development of University Leaders in view of Digital Transformation: Damanhur University as a Model

The study sought to elucidate the theoretical underpinnings of professional development, emphasizing the pivotal role of digital transformation in fostering university advancement. Recognizing the intricate link between this development and policy formulation, strategic planning, project financing, and administrative processes, the study delved into the realm of experience acquisition, self-improvement, monitoring, evaluation, and management of professional development programs. Consequently, the study underscored the imperative of cultivating university leadership as a cornerstone of continuous improvement within the university administrative system. To accomplish this objective, the study employed a descriptive methodology.
The study reached several results, the most prominent of which is that there are some obstacles that hinder the achievement of professional development, including: the limited dissemination of the culture of digital transformation in the university, the low awareness of university leaders of the legal and security issues associated with digital technologies, the lack of financial allocations allocated to professional development programs and activities, and the limited development of the technological capabilities and competencies of university leaders.
The study resulted in the need to hold educational and awareness-raising meetings with university leaders to clarify the theoretical and practical foundations of professional development, to establish a training culture using modern technologies, and according to training needs, to identify indicators to measure the extent of the availability of digital knowledge for university leaders, to convert traditional training into electronic training, and to make it available on technological platforms, and to design training programs in a digital and creative way to develop the skills of university leaders.
Keywords: Professional development, digital transformation