Abstract

The study addressed the role of digital technology in the educational process of Sudanese higher education institutions during the April 2023 war, by studying the case of Bakht al-Rida University. The study aimed to identify the digital technology used to continue academic activity, the method of presenting academic courses, and the extent of its ability to sustain the educational process in light of war, and then to identify the technical infrastructure available to employ it effectively and the extent to which faculty members and students interact with it. The researcher adopted the descriptive analytical method in both parts, using the approach of historical documentary studies from books, research, and previous studies, and the approach of social survey and case study using the sample, by designing two different electronic questionnaires, one for faculty members and the other for students at Bakht al-Rida University. A number of (50) faculty members versus (100) students were selected to represent the study sample, and then the results were circulated to Sudanese higher education institutions. One of the most important results related to the study is that the digital technology used to continue academic activity to communicate with students is social media (WhatsApp, Telegram), where courses and educational materials are presented via Office packages (Word, PowerPoint) with an audio recording of the explanation attached. It has been shown that the use of digital technology is the ideal alternative to sustain the educational process at the university in light of the challenges imposed by the war on the reality of education in Sudan, even though it is not compatible with the technical capabilities of most professors and students due to their lack of experience, as the university did not create an appropriate technological environment to sustain the educational process. Providing appropriate Internet networks, preparing an appropriate technological environment, and training faculty members and students to use it. Despite this, professors and students were able to communicate with each other to sustain the educational process and activate academic activity, but the interaction rate was almost non-existent. At the end of the study, the researcher presented a set of recommendations, the most important of which is working to improve the digital technology infrastructure in Sudanese universities, while providing Sudanese universities with advanced and modern devices and training professors and students on them, while working on developing curricula and curricula and reviewing regulations and laws to keep pace and be compatible with the modernity of digital transformation.