ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Transforming Higher Education Through AI-Enriched Tools: An Open Innovation Approach
Provisionally accepted
- 1Rezekne Academy of Riga Technical University, Rezekne, Latvia
- 2Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine
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The aim of the study is to analyze the perceptiveness and evaluation of students and academic staff regarding the transformation of the study process, considering the integration of AI-enriched tools in higher education within the framework of the open innovation approach. To address the aim of the research, the study poses the following questions: 1) What opportunities and challenges are seen by students and academic staff while integrating AI tools into the study process? 2) What competencies and prerequisites are considered essential for the effective use of AI-enriched tools in the study process? In this study, the authors analyze the scientific literature on the integration possibilities of AI-enriched tools and their role in higher education. This integration promotes the transformation of the study process within the framework of the open innovation approach. The study examines the use of AI technologies and its importance as a part of collaborative innovation ecosystem involving students, academic staff and other participants in the educational process. For a deep understanding the possibilities and challenges of the transformation of the study process, an empirical study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative research methods – a survey and focus group discussions with students and academic staff. The study analyzed the difference in perception of both groups involved regarding the importance of AI-enriched tools, their possibilities of use and their role on the quality of the study process and the development of competencies. The results obtained were systematized using SWOT analysis, revealing the most significant strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the integration of AI-enriched tools in the study process. The research results provide in-depth insight into the conditions and strategies needed for sustainable integration of artificial intelligence technologies into higher education, while promoting pedagogical innovation and targeted development of competencies for both students and academic staff.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, Competency development, higher education, open innovation, study process transformation
Received: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Abolina, Zorins, Vindaca, Usca and Petrushenko. 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: Anda Abolina
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