The pandemic and subsequent ‘lockdowns’ dramatically changed the educational landscape of higher education institutions. Before-COVID-19, traditional universities had choices in pedagogical practice, which included a variety of teaching delivery modes. Overnight, a single mode of delivery became the only option for traditional higher education institutions. All services migrated to digital platforms, leading to a period of “emergency eLearning”. The full impact of this sudden shift to digital platforms on all cohorts of students is still unclear. A measure of disruption to the normal student learning experience, especially for those attending traditional universities, was inevitable. Moreover, this disruption was varied depending on the University’s country and the country’s lockdown logistics. This international, comparative, quantitative research project investigated and explored higher education students’ perceptions of emergency eLearning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiences of students at universities in three countries were evaluated in terms of four dimensions: (1) home learning environment, (2) engagement, (3) participation preference, and (4) impact on learning skills. The research revealed significant differences between the participating universities students’ experiences. The most important differences were in the ‘home learning environment’, followed by ‘engagement’ and the perception of ‘impact on learning skills’. The differences in the ‘home learning environment’ can be attributed to the differing economic and digital development of the surveyed countries: South Africa, Wales, and Hungary. Finally, different cultural backgrounds suggest a noticeable difference in student engagement, participation, and learning skills.

The positive benefits of digitalisation are nowadays generally recognised and acknowledged by companies and are typically seen as essential in a rapidly and constantly changing business environment. Yet the level of digitalisation is still below expectations, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises. Several factors are behind it, ranging from high-cost concerns and management styles to a lack of knowledge etc. The present study reviews one of these aspects, the contradictory relationship between digitalisation and sustainability, with the aim of exploring the potential of digitalisation in the future and outlining new development strategies for small organisations. This research explores the perceived impact of digitalisation on sustainability based on the opinions of SME owners and managers in the V4 countries, Bulgaria and Serbia, using a quantitative method through a questionnaire survey. Based on their perception on the topic, the surveyed organisations can be divided into two groups (Concerned Inspired, Indifferent Conservatives) and accordingly can achieve a state of balanced digitainability, where both sustainability and digitalisation performance are outstanding with different strategic steps.

In 2020, a global pandemic led to lockdowns, and subsequent social and business restrictions. These required overnight implementation of emergency measures to permit continued functioning of vital industries. Digital technologies and platforms made this switch feasible, but it also introduced several cyber related vulnerabilities, which students might not have known how to mitigate. For this study, the Global Cyber Security Index and the Cyber Risk literacy and education index were used to provide a cyber security context for each country. This research project—an international, cross-university, comparative, quantitative project—aimed to explore the risk attitudes and concerns, as well as protective behaviours adopted by, students at a South African, a Welsh and a Hungarian University, during the pandemic. This study’s findings align with the relative rankings of the Oliver Wyman Risk Literacy and Education Index for the countries in which the universities reside. This study revealed significant differences between the student behaviours of students within these universities. The most important differences were identified between students’ risk attitudes and concerns. It was also discovered that South African students reported having changed their protective online behaviours to the greatest extent, since the pandemic commenced. Recommendations are made suggesting that cyber security training and education, as well as improving the digital trust and confidence in digital platforms, are critical.

The global energy transition is an uneven process, fundamentally related to the level of economic development of countries and their access to energy resources (renewable and non-renewable) to a large extent. The global climate is interconnected, and all nations impact it through their products and services. The six countries discussed—China, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Russia, and India—account for 44.8% of global primary energy consumption and 49% of global CO₂ emissions. Each of them has its own strategy for achieving carbon neutrality, based on different decarbonization scenarios, which, according to the authors, depend on geopolitical factors, national economy characteristics, and the established pragmatic goals and objectives. However, the “green agenda” itself may not always be among the top priorities when formulating energy strategies. The study objective is to analyze the feasibility of the stated goals in these countries using a combined logistic curve-based forecasting tool for predicting solar and wind production as well as investment volumes. It aims to justify the relation between solar and wind energy production and investment policies using a calculated technological coefficient. Results show similar, but time-shifted fluctuating investment dynamics in solar and wind energy trends in Japan, Germany and China, with Germany and Japan outperforming investment forecasts when considering the technology efficiency coefficient. Furthermore, the findings highlight the overwhelming appreciation of the unevenness of the green transition process, which will consequently make it impossible to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement until 2050. Taking these factors into consideration, exploratory decarbonization scenarios for these six major world economies alongside two dimensions, namely, the pace of green transition versus green technology and versus resources, are presented.

The digitization of production processes in the manufacturing sector represents a pivotal transformation that fundamentally reshapes how companies achieve productivity, make informed decisions, and secure a competitive advantage. This research investigates the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies—including the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, 3D printing, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI)—within traditional manufacturing systems. The study focuses on three key dimensions driving digital transformation in manufacturing firms and examines their impact on digital platforms, which are increasingly critical for maintaining competitiveness in the digital age. The adoption of these platforms facilitates the seamless integration of Industry 4.0 technologies, thereby enhancing the growth potential and innovative capacity of manufacturing companies. This investigation involves a comprehensive analysis of data collected from 635 valid surveys across six countries—Serbia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria—using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings confirm the significant influence of positive employee attitudes toward digitization and the intention to utilize digital tools on the successful adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. These results underscore the necessity of fostering a culture that supports digital transformation, which, in turn, improves the efficiency and competitiveness of manufacturing firms. This study provides valuable insights into the future trajectory of digitization in the manufacturing sector, highlighting the essential role of digital platforms in the ongoing evolution of the industry.