ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
This article is part of the Research TopicReimagining Higher Education: Responding Proactively to 21st Century Global ShiftsView all 54 articles
Innovation Models and Practical Exploration of New Academic Majors for the Digital Age: A China's Case Study of the Development of Digital Economy Majors
Provisionally accepted
- 1Southern Luzon State University-Tiaong Campus, Quezon, Philippines
- 2Beijing University of Financial Technology, Beijing, China
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The integration of digital technologies globally is driving industrial development. As a representative of developing countries, China has achieved significant progress in fields such as artificial intelligence, largely due to efforts in transforming its higher education system towards Education 5.0. One notable characteristic is the widespread establishment of digital economy majors across Chinese universities. This study analyzes the implementation, curriculum, and structure of digital economy majors in 68 Chinese universities, identifying three key innovative models and highlighting the unique development paths of certain institutions. The findings show that digital economy majors in China are trending towards a "core economic focus with multidisciplinary integration." While undergraduate education remains central, approximately 60% of universities have either already established or plan to offer graduate programs, indicating strong prospects for research-oriented development. The construction of digital economy majors can be categorized into three models: multidisciplinary integration, embedded internationalization, and industry-oriented collaboration, reflecting personalized talent cultivation. Two case studies are presented to showcase frontier exploration in digital economy education: Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, a public university, closely aligns its digital economy major with the development strategy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; Beijing Institute of Financial Technology, a private institution, incorporates internationalization and application-oriented features into its curriculum, aligning with global trends. The exploration of Chinese universities in the Education 5.0 era provides valuable insights for the development of digital economy majors and educational innovation in the context of digital transformation.
Keywords: China, Digital Economy Majors, education 5.0, Innovation models, practical exploration
Received: 11 Sep 2025; Accepted: 29 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang and LV. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiandong LV
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