The educational system of the twenty-first century is student-centered. Students are the generation that has seen firsthand the enormous expansion of online media represented by the Internet, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, which has increased the relevance of digital competence in higher education. This is because they are the ones who have grown up with the rapid development of computer networks and who have firsthand knowledge of those technologies. Additionally, the epidemic has raised public awareness of the need of for digital literacy. The increasing digitalization and modernization of every area of our lives to satisfy the needs of modern education is creating new chances for both teaching and learning. The world over, more and more technology is being used to improve training and education, which eliminates the need to take into account regional factors that are associated with traditional education. More and more educational establishments are using technology to improve instruction. The paper’s primary objective is to pinpoint the internet-related and digitalization-related variables that have an impact on higher education in European nations using the following indicators: patent applications, resident population, high-tech exports, research and development spending, and school enrollment at the tertiary level (% gross). Due to data availability, the sample includes 40 nations over the period 1996-2020. The World Bank database is the source of the information. Panel-data VAR and panel Granger causality were the methodologies we used. Our findings suggested that the Internet and digitalization considerably impact higher education because high-technology exports represent both the internet and digitalization.

Economic and regional development and rapid, often unpredictable changes across the globe in technical fields have an effect on everything, including universities, training, research and services as well. Universities must find their place in this continuously changing environment, they need to continuously reinterpret themselves and their own roles, whilst ensuring that education and knowledge transfer take priority. The pace of change is increasingly accelerating with technological novelties and innovations by high-tech industries surpassing themselves at an astounding rate. Therefore, knowledge, as the facilitator and creator of these results, plays an increasingly important role for those who wish to rank among the winners of the competition both locally and globally. Today, the primary creators of knowledge are still educational institutions, and universities are the fundamental platforms of research. However, it is not enough to be «only» a university, they must educate and research and become part of the developed world alongside participants who would like to provide scientific answers to practical problems. In our paper we address the question of breaking points along which the role of universities can be transformed in order to remain open to the needs of both their narrower and wider environment while maintaining theirfundamental mission, thus becoming successful players on the global stage. The development of high-tech industries has resulted in a science-driven period when economic development is unimaginable without the scientific results and the interconnection of individual disciplines. This development will presumably lead to the deterioration of certain individual knowledge and the deepening of others. Higher education must also adapt to this with the development of an education system that strengthens digital skills and serves regional expectations. Nowadays entrepreneurial universities have emerged, which are able to operate with an entrepreneurial approach, thereby responding independently to challenges from outside. The ability to co-operate must be a key aspect of university existence, and the deepening of educational, research and business partnerships is a prerequisite for success. In order to spread management approach and create an entrepreneurial ecosystem, successful R&D work and innovation, it is also necessary to involve external, tender resources and grants, besides own resources. However, these resources need to be used well, but the lack of a pre-planned, conscious strategy results in less efficient use. Regional cooperation, common thinking, training and innovation, science workshops and science parks all contribute to the development of institutions and related regions.