The aim of this article is to provide empirical evidence on the level of digital entrepreneurial competences (DEC) that higher education students acquire during their higher education and to investigate the relationship between their socio-demographic characteristics and the level of DEC. The first competence area (Identification of opportunities) of the DEC EmDigital competence framework was assessed together with its three sub-competence areas (Search for and analysis of information, Creativity and innovation, and Prospecting), and the relationship between the level of DEC and various socio-demographic characteristics of higher education students was investigated using logistic regression. The results show a relatively low DEC level of the participating students for the first EmDigital competence area. Location, field of study, level of study and employment status were found to be statistically significant for the acquisition of DEC, while the variables age and gender had little impact. The results of this study are a step towards the development of an DEC online assessment tool (using the Digital Competence Wheel as a role model) that universities and other stakeholders could use to assess the level of DEC their students acquire during university education. This research is the first study to assess the acquisition of DEC during university studies and the impact of different socio-demographic characteristics of students on their level of DEC.

Successful digital transformation does not only depend on the successful implementation of information systems but also depends on how effectively those systems are being utilized by people in the organization

This paper provides insights into the research design and preliminary results of the research targeting digital entrepreneurial competence levels of the university students acquired during the course of formal university education. The preliminary insights represent the part of the research grant funded by Kuwait Foundation for Advancements in Sciences aiming to develop the tool for assessing the levels of students digital entrepreneurial competences. The preliminary results indicate that there are differences in digital entrepreneurial competence levels which can be attributed to different characteristics of university students.

The advancement of technology paved the way for significant improvements in higher education institutions (HEIs) as much as it was associated with sizable pressures for individuals, implied by the challenging task of managing enormous volume of information from digital communication channels. This research is addressing two main objectives. First, explore the extent of Information and Communication Overload (ICO) that accompanied the digital transformation in Kuwaiti HEIs and accelerated amidst the Covid19 pandemic. Second, assess the conditions that are/could be used in those organizations to mitigate ICO and any of its adverse effects.