Modern information and communication technologies are becoming the basis for a new quality of cities, the organisation of a comfortable living space in cities, improving the quality of life of the population, ensuring sustainable development and improving technology as a tool for implementing these tasks. The implementation of all these measures requires significant investments, which makes it necessary to find various ways of diversifying financial sources and mechanisms. The purpose of the article is to identify modern investment processes in the development of smart technologies of the world's smart cities in the conditions of large-scale digitalisation. Methodology. Graphic visualization methods are used to characterize trends in the penetration of the latest ICT technologies into the life of cities, the growth of the ICT market in smart cities, including 5G technologies. The methods of system analysis and generalisation allowed to determine the main directions of investment in smart city technologies and to identify the processes of formation of the newest forms of investment. Practical implications. The generalisation of the smart city practice made it possible to identify the following basic technologies necessary for the formation of a smart city ecosystem: Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, cloud computing, etc. These technologies are used to improve the quality of life, increase the efficiency of the economy and infrastructure, ensure community safety and promote the sustainable development of the smart city. These key areas require significant investment: communications infrastructure (5G network); traffic management systems; energy efficiency; security and surveillance systems; electronic service management. Global investment in smart city technology is predicted to increase many times over in the coming years. Value/originality. The need to attract significant investment in the development of the city's digital infrastructure has led to the emergence of the latest financial technologies that have widened the range of opportunities: direct investment, venture capital, corporate investment, corporate partnerships, state and local funds, crowdfunding, bonds, fintech, blockchain, etc.

The problem of the research is to investigate the rising demand in the update of the higher education system in Latvia, existing prerequisites, and key factors of its further development. The interest of the research is determined by the need of modern society to support higher education in an order to ensure the competitiveness of human resources. The purpose of the research is to determine key factors of higher education development in Latvia, existing prerequisites, implications, and challenges, also fostered by COVID-19 pandemic impact. The research methods include analysis of scientific abstracts, legislation acts, and industry and public bodies’ reports, analysis of statistical data, and a survey. The research results have shown - complex solutions are needed to increase the international competitiveness of the educational sector in Latvia.

Even though the historical development of artificial intelligence started in the mid-20th century, since the launching of Chat GPT this concept emerged in the scientific and educational agenda. Different concerns are arising at different education levels, starting from a discussion about whether should it be considered plagiarism, and ending with ethical aspects of the usage of Chat GPT by students and educators. The research aims to research the main recent scientific findings about generative tools in artificial intelligence and the ethical aspects of its usage in education. Methods used – analysis of recent scientific findings and statistical analysis of the answers of the respondents on authors created a survey for students of Higher Education Institutions about their attitudes and knowledge towards Generative Tools of Artificial Intelligence. Analysis was performed via SPSS comparing the opinion of students towards ethics of Generative Tools of AI from different countries. Results of the research show the attitudes of students towards the usage of Generative Tools of Artificial Intelligence from different countries.

In the context of armed conflicts, regions often face infrastructure destruction and economic difficulties. The development of tourism can be a key factor in recovery and economic growth. Geospatial platforms for interactive charitable tourism offer a promising solution for attracting tourists and stimulating the development of affected regions. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of geospatial platforms for interactive charitable tourism as a tool for attracting tourists and promoting the recovery and development of regions affected by armed conflicts. This study employed regression and correlation analysis methods. The analysis revealed significant positive correlations for all variables. The correlation coefficient for audience reach was 0.75, for the effectiveness of attracting donations—0.8, for the economic impact on the region—0.9, for user interaction with the platform—0.85, for platform sustainability—0.78, and for social impact—0.92. The t-statistic values exceeded the critical thresholds, and the p-values were below 0.05, confirming the statistical significance of the results. The coefficient of determination was 0.91, indicating a high explanatory power of the model. For the four obtained clusters, approaches to the development and use of geospatial platforms were justified. For regions of Cluster 1 with high audience reach (0.75) and moderate effectiveness of attracting donations (0.8), it is recommended to use technologies to improve connectivity and effectively promote their strengths. For regions of Cluster 2 with high sustainability and high tourism potential (high social impact = 0.92), it is necessary to include advanced geospatial solutions to increase visitor engagement and optimize recovery strategies, building on existing strengths to attract more tourists and stimulate sustainable development. For regions of Cluster 3, significant investments are required both in geospatial platforms and in tourism infrastructure to benefit from high tourism potential (economic impact on the region = 0.9). Strategic development and targeted marketing should be a priority to attract tourists and stimulate economic growth. Regions of Cluster 4 with low sustainability and tourism potential (low user interaction with the platform = 0.85 and platform sustainability = 0.78) require comprehensive support, as they are in a crisis situation.

Since the late 20th century, organisational culture has attracted considerable attention from researchers worldwide, becoming a key subject of academic inquiry. In the context of higher education, organisational culture has been shown to exert a significant influence on institutional development and workplace dynamics. A comprehensive grasp of this concept empowers university administration to cultivate a professional environment conducive to the success of faculty and staff. The present study explores theoretical perspectives on organisational culture and examines the views of academic staff across various countries regarding key aspects of institutional culture. A particular focus is placed on faculty self-assessments of their perceived appreciation by both university management and students. The research methodology encompasses an analysis of scientific literature and a survey of teaching staff with regard to organisational culture in higher education. The analysis of data involves the utilisation of descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, hypothesis testing through the implementation of t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and correlation analysis. The findings provide insights into the core values upheld by higher education institutions from the organisational culture perspective, offering a deeper understanding of faculty experiences and institutional practices.